{"id":263060,"date":"2017-10-25T06:06:43","date_gmt":"2017-10-24T20:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=263060"},"modified":"2017-10-25T06:06:43","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T20:06:43","slug":"many-hearing-said-yes-pot-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/many-hearing-said-yes-pot-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Many at hearing said yes to pot bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
A CNMI resident shares their opinion on cannabis regulation and legalization as members of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government and Law listen on Monday night at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center. (Erwin Encinares)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many of those who attended Monday night\u2019s public hearing on a bill to legalize and regulate the use of marijuana in the CNMI expressed overwhelming support for the bill.<\/p>\n

Within an hour into the hearing at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center on Monday night, 13 members of the public voiced their support for Senate Bill 20-62, while only two were against.<\/p>\n

A common denominator for those who supported the bill cited several health benefits of the plant, including claims that it alleviates the pain of cancer treatment and those with rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis; eases epileptic seizures, helps patients with post-traumatic stress disorder; slows the progression of Alzheimer\u2019s, and more.<\/p>\n

According to Laura Mu\u00f1a, the use of marijuana could hopefully alleviate her daughter\u2019s pain from cerebral palsy and epilepsy.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had these chronic illnesses since she was 2 years old,\u201d she said, adding that her daughter is currently taking five medicines twice a day.<\/p>\n

Mu\u00f1a said her daughter experiences at least two seizures every day. Upon moving to the U.S. mainland with her daughter to seek medical attention from a neurosurgeon, Mu\u00f1a learned from magnetic resonance imaging scans, or MRI scans, and computerized tomography scans, or CT scans, that her daughter had cysts in her brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor said he could perform the surgery but it\u2019s going to be risky for her because it is a 50\/50 chance for survival,\u201d she said, adding that she declined the surgeon\u2019s offer to operate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am hoping and praying for a miracle to come that will eliminate her pain and suffering,\u201d said Mu\u00f1a. \u201cI ask you for the support of this bill for the betterment of the ill.\u201d<\/p>\n

A U.S. Army veteran, Martin Ezra Teregeyo, who said he has served in Iraq twice, said at the public hearing that marijuana alleviates his PTSD. He claimed that it is only through smoking marijuana that he tempers his suicidal tendencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been through a lot\u2026but when I smoke that joint, it just makes me relax,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr. John Doyle, who supported the bill, emphasized the importance of regulating and enforcing the law. Since the plant is currently considered illegal, marijuana dealers do not have anything to enforce\u2014no age limit or amount restrictions\u2014both provisions that are embedded in Sen. Sixto Igisomar\u2019s (R-Saipan) S.B. 20-62.<\/p>\n

Kristo Rai Church pastor Rev. Fr. Ken Hezel opposed marijuana legalization, citing a study that links the plant to psychosis.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 Teenage cannabis use hastens the onset of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals,\u201d he said, reading from a research material. \u201cI\u2019m concerned for the youth; that is my main concern and how it affects the youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

About 50 people signed up for the public hearing last Monday.<\/p>\n

Igisomar\u2019s S.B. 20-62 is no longer just about medical marijuana; it seeks to legalize and regulate the use of cannabis in the CNMI. The bill consists of more than 50 pages. Although written as a bill, it is also somewhat akin to a popular initiative. If passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, it will then be presented to voters on the ballot in the 2018 election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many of those who attended Monday night\u2019s public hearing on a bill to legalize and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":263071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[26,6394,6049,9941],"class_list":["post-263060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-cnmi","tag-ct","tag-john-doyle","tag-ptsd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}