“Cannabis is far safer than alcohol and usually has a mellowing effect as opposed to alcohol which often causes an increase in aggression which can lead to increased violence,” Ridgell said.
Asia, including Guam’s main tourism markets of Japan and Korea, is changing its attitudes toward cannabis, he said.
“South Korea recently legalized medical cannabis and Japan recently approved clinical trials for the cannabis compound used in treating epileptic patients,” Ridgell said. “Now that America’s cannabis policies are changing many experts believe Asia will follow suit.”
Six business groups echoed the Guam Visitors Bureau’s stance on banning cannabis use, sale and purchase in “family-friendly” Tumon, and are also opposed to advertising legal cannabis use to lure tourists to visit Guam.
They said cannabis will cause irreparable harm to Guam’s tourism industry.
Ridgell said GVB’s own economic impact study shows “positive impacts.”
GVB’s study, conducted prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, projected some $133 million in annual cannabis sales once the industry is in full operation.
Ridgell, reelected to a second term, said GVB has a seat on the Cannabis Control Board and the bureau, he said, is “only now acting like they were unaware of the Cannabis Industry Act or the formulation of the rules and regulations.”
“With their seat on the board they are a part of the formulation of the rules and regulations,” the senator said, adding that GVB’s concerns were not mentioned at all in its own economic impact study.
Proponents of the bill said with the Covid-19 pandemic tanking Guam’s tourism, it’s time the island pursue the cannabis industry.
The same GVB study estimates 14,500 adult Guam residents and 66,000 tourists will take advantage of recreational cannabis on the first year of full legalization.
The Cannabis Control Board, required by law to set the cannabis industry rules and regulations, is currently reviewing public comments on its draft 133-page rules.
Without adopted rules, it remains illegal to sell, buy or trade recreational marijuana on Guam.
But individuals 21 years and older can consume it and grow up to six plants at home. It is also legal to possess up to 1 ounce of dried cannabis flower in public.
The draft rules already make clear that cannabis consumption is prohibited in public places such as public parks and beaches, which is one of the business groups’ concerns.
The business groups suggest designating an area outside of Tumon, such as a street in Harmon or Anigua or elsewhere where tourists do not typically go, where bars and cafes can sell or advertise cannabis and where customers can consume cannabis.
The Guam Chamber of Commerce, the Guam Contractors Association, the Japan Guam Travel Association, the Korea Guam Travel Association, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Guam and Baldyga Group, as well as GVB, also don’t want cannabis use to be allowed in hotel rooms.
A member of the Cannabis Control Board, Adrian Cruz, said it’s “hypocrisy” when businesses say they don’t want cannabis in Tumon yet the tourist district has lots of strip clubs, massage parlors, bars, adult shops and other non-family-friendly businesses.
Ridgell, meanwhile, said cannabis was a traditional medicine throughout most of Asia for centuries.
“Most of Asia’s current drug policies were instituted because of America’s drug policies,” he said. “In fact, cannabis was legal in Japan prior to World War II. Japan’s Cannabis Control Act was introduced in 1948, when the country was occupied by the U.S. after the Second World War, under the control of General MacArthur.”
During the 2020 national election, he said, even more states legalized recreational cannabis namely Montana, New Jersey, Arizona and South Dakota.
“A majority of the states have legalized cannabis in some form. It is no longer a question of whether or not the federal government will legalize cannabis. The question now is how soon they will legalize cannabis,” he said.
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has also legalized both medicinal and adult cannabis use.
