Cannabis tourism reform efforts hit snag

The CNMI administration’s efforts to reform the cannabis tourism industry has hit a bump on the road with the Commonwealth Cannabis Commission allegedly opposing to assist Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ contracted representative on the matter, Ambrose Bennett.

Last Aug. 15, Oscar M. Babauta Sr., the governor’s special assistant for administration, issued a letter to all cannabis tourism industry stakeholders informing them of Palacios’ plans to reform the cannabis tourism industry and retained the services of Bennett to lead the initiative.

In a letter to Torres last Monday, Bennett expressed that Cannabis Commission board member Joe Palacios has been doing everything possible to inhibit his efforts to carry out his task to reform the cannabis tourism industry.

“He is telling the cannabis people ‘Ambrose has a separate contract and you don’t have to help him’ and now he’s virtually telling dispensary owners the same thing. I have constantly been met with opposition to assist me in carrying out your mandate,” he said.

Bennett claims that staff of the Cannabis Commission have been informed not to work with him which caused a delay in him getting basic demographic information about the dispensaries.

In addition, Bennett says the Cannabis Commission has limited his ability to work with the commission’s staff, and has sent out an email informing dispensary owners that he does not work for the Cannabis Commission.

“This must stop governor, or my efforts will be useless if my authority as your contracted representative for the matter is circumvented by the Cannabis Commission that is being micromanaged by Mr. Palacios. I’m sure you know that it is imperative for the Cannabis Commission to work with me on these reforms and I am asking that you send a memo to the Cannabis Commission to discontinue any and all activity that goes against the work I’m doing to reform the industry and to work with me in providing everything that I ask for including using the office space the chair agreed to but Mr. Palacios is even micromanaging that,” he said.

Bennett told Palacios that he will also be rescheduling another meeting with the dispensary owners as they must be organized like the hotel industry if reforms efforts are to come to fruition.

“There are two major players (Hook Up and Saipan Select) who seem to think they don’t have to be involved in your reform efforts which is why I am seeking an official letter from you to the Cannabis Commission to set this matter straight that I can share with owners, as the meeting was actually mandatory to try and save the industry, which is why you hired me,” he said.

According to a previous article on the Saipan Tribune, Babauta stated that the CNMI is in desperate need of a new revenue source and the cannabis industry was initially created to be a revenue source for the CNMI.

“As all of you are aware, the CNMI is in desperate need of new revenue sources and the purpose for creating the industries on paper by law was to generate new revenues. However, the government is presently spending over $200,000 a year more on the industry than what is being collected in taxes and fees from the cannabis tourism industry. We must fix this industry, or it was useless to create the industry,” he said.

Babauta added that there is also the fact that the CNMI is now in a “horse race” with Guam that now legalized recreational usage of cannabis.

“The governor has tasked me with working with Mr. Bennett and being the ‘executive officer’ for these reforms. It is critical that all stakeholders buy-in on the reforms that are driven by ‘common sense and common practices related to the use of marijuana,’” he said.

In closing, Babauta asks all stakeholders work with Bennett in creating the required reforms to make the cannabis tourism industry a productive revenue source for the CNMI government.

“To date, the cannabis tourism industry has yet to be promoted in any way and that must change if the CNMI is to reap real new revenues from the industry. You will be contacted in the near future by Mr. Bennett. It is the governor’s sincere request that you work with Mr. Bennett on this confidential and time-sensitive matter,” said Babauta.

Ambrose M. Bennett is an economist who minored in sociology, political scientist, a retired teacher, and former CNMI Board of Education member, a James Madison Fellow (U.S. constitutional scholar), a Fulbright-Hays and lifetime humanities scholar who resides in Kagman III in the CNMI.