THE CNMI Cannabis Commission is “engaging” the Department of Public Safety in the formulation of enforcement guidance for cannabis-related DUIs, among other things, commission chairwoman Nadine Deleon Guerrero said.
She was responding to a question asked by Infrastructure and Recovery Program inspector Regino Celis about testing motorists apprehended for DUI for presence of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
She said the commission does not have jurisdiction over DUI apprehensions, “but it is something that we are engaging the DPS with.”
“This is the beginning of opening the conversation about the things that need to be brought to the forefront,” Deleon Guerrero added.
“There is so much more that needs to be done. We are aware of that.”
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, a former special adviser for the cannabis industry and the author of Public Law 20-66 or Sensible CNMI Cannabis Act of 2018, echoed Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ remark that the law is not perfect.
Issues related to the cannabis industry are “fairly new,” and recreational marijuana itself is a recent development compared to medicinal marijuana which, in many states, has been in the books much longer.
“But most of them are facing the same issues as we are,” he added.
Regarding cannabis-related DUIs, he said some states “have attempted to set limits as far as what constitutes intoxication by marijuana.”
The DCCA secretary told Reps. Corina Magofna and Denita Yangetmai, who represented the Legislature in the meeting, to “please take note…you may want to look into that.”
Meantime, he said, “I think it is a safe practice for now, that if a [motorist] is swerving all over the road and is found to be affected by whatever substance, they can be charged with DUI.”
He reiterated that “this is a new thing not just here but also in other states so we need to see what works there.”
CNMI Cannabis Commission Chairwoman Nadine Deleon Guerrero answers a question during a panel discussion with stakeholders in Saipan World Resort’s Sunflower Room on Wednesday.
