‘Give cannabis a chance’

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signs House Bill 19-178 or the Taulamwaar Sensible CNMI Cannabis Act of 2018 into law last Friday at a jam-packed conference room of the Office of the Governor Building on Capital Hill. (Jon Perez)

Malua Peter fought back tears as she recalled how her husband, the late David “Taulamwaar” Peter, struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and later Stage IV cancer before the disease finally took his life three years ago. In those years, cannabis kept her husband calm and eased his suffering.

That personal experience with how cannabis helped her husband and eased his pain convinced Peter, a former House lawmaker and Board of Education member, that Gov. Ralph DLG Torres was doing the right thing when he—at about 2:30pm last Friday and with Saipan under Tropical Storm Condition 3—enacted House Bill 20-178, a pro-cannabis legislation that saw the CNMI make history as the first U.S. territory to legalize both medical and recreational use of marijuana. That also made the CNMI the first U.S. jurisdiction to do so through its legislature, rather than via ballot initiative.

That historic moment was witnessed by close to 70 pro-cannabis legalization individuals and group members that packed the conference room of the Office of the Governor building on Capital Hill.

H.B. 20-178, titled the Taulamwaar Sensible CNMI Cannabis Act of 2018, was approved 6-0-2 in the CNMI Senate last week and 18-1-1 in the CNMI House of Representatives on Aug. 8 after several public hearings on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota and months of being shepherded through the CNMI Legislature.

The law legalizes and controls the use of cannabis in the Commonwealth, becoming the first U.S. jurisdiction to allow the commercial and medicinal use of marijuana. Those who are allowed are adults 21 years old or older.

P.L. 20-66 was named after the late David Peter, a Vietnam War veteran and a cultural icon in the community, who died almost three years ago. He was a known-musician and leader of the band Rematua, who penned the Carolinian verses of the CNMI national anthem—Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi/Satil Matawal Pacifico.

His wife, Malua, said that marijuana became part of their lives and their family became closer in helping her husband get through PTSD and cancer.

“I didn’t know anything about [PTSD before],” said Peter.

“We had to move to Washington [State] to be with our boys when he was found with Stage IV cancer so he could start taking the hemp oil. He did took that and his cancer cell count were diminishing, and then he decided to come back to Saipan to be with the rest of his family here.”

She told her husband they can’t return to the CNMI since he needs to continue using hemp oil but he insisted. “He came back to be with the rest of the family. He chose to come back home. That’s when his condition got worse but he didn’t want to be taken to the hospital.”

She recalled that some of their relatives would go to their house to volunteer to bring him to the hospital but he refused.

“That’s why, on behalf of the people who are in need or families that are in this stage, searching for something to help their [loved ones], thank you for taking a stand. I always tell the people to come up to me if you want to know about marijuana, come ask me because I lived with the guy for over 50 years. …We never had a problem, because it [marijuana] kept him calm. So, thank you governor, the legislators, and all for supporting this.”

Peter also appealed to the critics and others who only see the negative effects of the new law. “For the people who are not supporting the move that the Legislature and the governor did, be patient and allow the people to be healed.”

“This is not a personal need and we have a lot of people that need to survive with all the cancers that’s going around. Please give us a chance and allow these people to survive.”

Not yet legal

Although Torres has already signed the bill, this does not mean that smoking marijuana is now instantly legal as certain rules and regulations must first be in place. “Today, our people made history. We took a stand to legalize marijuana in the CNMI for recreational, medical, and commercial use.”

“Now, I want to advise the Commonwealth that it is not legal to use marijuana yet. We have 30 days to set up our [five-member] Cannabis Commission by appointing members from Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and the Northern Islands, and our local legislative delegations would need to confirm them within 30 days.”

Once the commission has been formed, they will have 180 days to create and promulgate the regulations, which would then take effect 10 days after its adoption and publication in the Commonwealth Register.

“We will ensure that this industry will be properly regulated and enforced. We want to do this the right way and I also expect the Legislature to send me a companion bill that outlines my recommendations to strengthen [P.L. 20-66] for our community’s safety and public health.”

He thanked the Legislature and others who helped craft and improve the language of the bill. “From the hard work of our Legislature going out and conducting numerous public hearings on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota to the overwhelming support from members of our community, it is only fitting that I sign this bill into law in the best interest of our people, especially those suffering from debilitating illnesses and for our island economy.”

“I want to thank our Legislature, especially the authors, Sen. Sixto K. Igisomar (R-Saipan) and Rep. Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero (R-Saipan), our advocates, and everyone in our community for sharing their concerns and helping us realize this historic day for the people that call these islands home.”

Some comments

Sensible CNMI, co-founded by Laurence Duponcheel and Gerry Hemley, welcomed the signing of the law as it would finally make the CNMI transition from prohibiting marijuana to controlling it.

“I am proud of the CNMI leadership, citizens, and national organizations for working together to thoughtfully develop and approve a progressive piece of legislation that will improve the quality of life of so many,” said Duponcheel.

“Together, we are telling the world that we do not feel that our citizens should be stigmatized and criminalized for the responsible adult use of cannabis and that they should no longer be denied access to this life-saving medicine,” Duponcheel said.

For Hemley, the signing of the law makes the CNMI achieve a lot of firsts. “The CNMI became the first U.S. jurisdiction to do it legislatively as opposed to Vermont and we included recreational.

“We’re also the first to move from a full prohibition to full legalization mindset, compared to other states that started from medical marijuana. The journey begins with the governor setting up the commission and we’re going to see from there how we would benefit from this.”

Dr. John Doyle, medical director at the Commonwealth Health Center but who spoke in his capacity as a private citizen, said recreational use would make easy access to cannabis for patients who need them. “This is the reason why I was fighting for recreational use as opposed to medical. For instance, the new drug that’s derived from cannabis has been patented and approved by the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]. It is the same drug that they’ve been giving kids with seizures. The pharmaceutical companies put a price tag on it of $37,000 a year. Basically, those who need it medically will be able to grow it on their own backyard.”

House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee chair Ivan A. Blanco (R-Saipan) also expressed his gratitude to those who helped improved the bill. “Thank you to all the House and [JGO] Committee members, the individuals who are on or off-island, the organizations, and government agencies.”

“Thank you for providing input that significantly improved the language of now P.L. 20-66. We also thank the authors [Deleon Guerrero and Igisomar], the members of the Legislature, and the governor for working together on this historic bill,” added Blanco.

Laws legalizing and regulating marijuana for adult use have been adopted by voters in eight states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Lawmakers in Vermont and voters in D.C. have adopted laws that make marijuana possession and cultivation legal for adults, but they do not regulate commercial production or sales.