The young adult population in particular has had much to say about the potential legalization of marijuana. When this reporter surveyed a random sample of 100 CNMI high school and college students about their thoughts on the marijuana bill, the feedback was overwhelming — as was the passion behind their words.
Anti-legalization
Some of the 60 percent of respondents who opposed the legalization of marijuana had money on their minds.
According to Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, the CNMI could potentially lose $10 million in federal funding should marijuana be legalized. This warning has led many teens to conclude that legalization of the drug is not worth the economic risk. Many believe that the CNMI government is not ready to handle such a potentially harmful drug given our current economic crisis. Marianas High School senior Denicia Avendano writes, “There are numerous people suffering from austerity days and payless holidays, and yet we are trying to pass a bill that might just lose the government $10 million? We should try fixing the major flaws in our government’s thinking before trying to legalize marijuana in the CNMI.”
Health was another primary concern among the teenage opposition. Research has shown that marijuana could be beneficial to the terminally ill, yet there has been no solid proof saying that recreational use of the drug could either hurt or help one’s health. Even so, teenagers have seen the negative effects of “getting high” in those who surround them — bloodshot eyes, diminished concentration, and the look of being, as Mount Carmel School senior Maria Balajadia puts it, “out of touch with reality.” Despite various claims that the drug is “safe” or “harmless,” teens from all over the CNMI have expressed disapproval of the distorted behavior caused by smoking marijuana. “It’s so stupid legalizing a drug,” says Dae Min Jeon, a junior at Grace Christian Academy. “I don’t want to see stoners all around me.”
If there was one thing teenagers placed the most emphasis on, however, it was the drug’s potential influence on the younger generations — how would the youth end up if marijuana was legalized? Daniel Jake Kaipat of the Northern Marianas College expressed fear that legalization would cause more adults to use marijuana in front of children, which may cause children to experiment with the drug at earlier ages. Saipan Southern High School senior Kathleen Laurio conjectured that if the current young adult population was to experience having marijuana legalized, our chances of having better, more qualified future leaders may very well go down the drain. Kagman High School senior Ritchell Dela Cruz’s genuine concern for the lives of her peers definitely stuck out to this reporter: “I am tired of seeing people, especially young ones our age, ruining their lives. I can’t afford to lose another family or friend [to marijuana], and I don’t think anyone else would want that either. I say no to legalizing marijuana.”
Pro-legalization
Well, what about the other side? Majority of the survey’s teen respondents spoke against the passing of the marijuana bill, but that’s not to say that no one was in support of the bill. In fact, approximately 30 percent of respondents came back in support of the legalization of marijuana.
According to the accounts of supporters, the drug’s benefits are not quantitative, but qualitative: some supporters of the bill stated marijuana induces peace of mind and gives users time to “reflect” on their lives. Moreover, many have observed from personal experience that marijuana is practically harmless compared to other already-legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. That notion is altogether true: according to a publication released by The Lancet, a U.K. medical journal, both marijuana’s addictiveness and harmfulness as a drug are lower than those of alcohol and tobacco. Also, various studies on the drug have reportedly found no correlation between marijuana and cancer, mental disorders, depression, or death.
As mentioned earlier, the CNMI could lose millions in federal grants should marijuana be legalized. However, that has not stopped a few supporters from believing in the drug’s economic gain. One student who spoke on the condition of anonymity related the relationship between the CNMI and marijuana to that of the former British colonies and their revenue-generating main export: tea. Another student, a sophomore from Kagman High School, suggested that fees be implemented for those who choose to grow marijuana for noncommercial use.
Also, more than a few respondents expressed their belief that marijuana could help, instead of hinder, the CNMI’s tourism industry by providing an island hotspot for foreigners to come for some, as one student calls it, “R and R.”
Although the teenage supporters of the marijuana bill came back with various answers and arguments, one statement seemed pervasive throughout all the responses: “People are already [smoking marijuana] anyway.”
While many, like Northern Marianas College student Loremel Hocog, find this type of reasoning to be “absurd,” teen supporters of the marijuana bill firmly believe that legalizing the drug with the current marijuana bill’s provisions will decrease the amount of people eligible to be arrested for using. Supposedly, this should in turn decrease the overall crime rate and lessen the amount of money spent on incarcerating drug users, possessors, and cultivators. “Legal or not, people are going to use it,” say many of the students. And as bad as that may sound, we cannot deny that that statement is true.
Finding common ground
Just like every other social issue, the debate over marijuana legalization has some people riding the fence. About 10 percent of respondents to the survey in question supported the legalization of marijuana — but for medicinal purposes only. Others were just as undecided as their adult counterparts. A few even suggested putting the marijuana bill up as an initiative during the next election — in other words, they’re asking to have the voters of the CNMI decide on whether or not the marijuana bill should become a real-deal law.
The marijuana bill has definitely sparked some dissention among peers with opposing views on the drugs. From the old and wise to the young at heart, everyone has spoken their minds on this controversial issue in hopes that our leaders on the Hill would hear their voices. Who knows what will happen? Will the bill pass or be dismissed? Will medical marijuana be legalized? More importantly, will we as the people of the CNMI end up deciding on this issue ourselves? Well, we will just have to wait and see. In the meantime, please stay away from marijuana at all costs. After all, the drug is illegal…at least, for now it is.
For more of the youth’s opinion on the legalization of marijuana, visit www.facebook.com/lexhofs.MVTEEN and click on the Note entitled “MARIJUANA MADNESS – Quotes.”
