Ambrose M. Bennett
THE TRUTH of the matter is NEVER underestimate a Teacher, as it has been teachers who touch & shape the future every day. Yet, there are those who still want to apply the old Chamorro strategy of “making your name bad” to try and stop the teacher. The Governor called me and ASKED me to help him fix the Cannabis Tourism Industry and to help get the Hemp Industry started because he knew from when he was the Senate President that if anyone could fix these industries it was Ambrose M. Bennett. However, with any change being implemented there will always be those who are AGAINST the change and in this case, it was the very Cannabis Commission and a certain Dispensary who have the monopoly of local consumers. But how sad it is the saboteurs were successful in getting the Governor to stop me all because of one article in the newspaper that highlighted my record over the need to fix the industry. They were successful in getting the governor to put a stop to my efforts but that will never erase the problems with the industry and how the People’s money is being USED and even wasted. The CNMI government is NOT turning a profit and I can run circles around the Cannabis Commission, as you will see — just keep reading!
I didn’t do the research for the Senate to create the industry for one dispensary to get rich, and I certainly didn’t write in the original draft of the law so one or two dispensaries like Saipan Select who allegedly grew marijuana illegally and was ready to harvest the same day they got their license to start growing using their Political ties with Ralph to beat others who were even ahead in line. So they could capture the local consumers to control the industry killing the “little guys” figuratively — and there is photographic PROOF! But as I stated to the Senate when the Governor was the Senate President: “The CNMI’s population is insufficient to support a Cannabis Industry and that WE must depend upon tourism sales for the government to really make some real money.” That statement has held TRUE until today because the Cannabis Commission has FAILED for six years to sponsor a single event or activity to promote the industry — not even 420Day, pathetic! The Cannabis Commission has FAILED for six years to produce any advertisement to promote the industry, not even in the arrival area at the Airport — pathetic! The Cannabis Commission has FAILED for six years to get any legislation adopted into law that would improve the industry, as they only got start on some bills recently when they KNEW I was snooping around. Heck they even used MY idea (intellectual property) for delivery to the hotels without my permission: But only in the CNMI can “one monkey stop the show” by sending a letter to the paper that has momentarily stopped progress for everyone AGAIN!
But the article failed to mention the Cannabis Commission was on the chopping block for its many failures, as the individual Mayors & Municipal Councils on each island were supposed to take over the custodianship for events & promotions while the Department of Commerce was going to be the custodian for the business operations and state issues remained with the legislature. WE don’t even need that commission if you think about it!!! But to put it simple — the Commission would die due to its FAILURES, thus they HAD to find an ugly way to make it hard and even make my name bad just to stop me. But it didn’t work, people already knew my record is 50 years old, as only bigots would use this against me when Trump, the felon is running for President!!! PSS knows I was more of a victim of my peers’ illegal activities than a criminal. Furthermore, the Cannabis Commission is still on the chopping block now more than ever as they just exposed themselves messing with me and its “open season” for them to either deliver in millions, or be dammed, as EVERYONE is now looking at the Cannabis Commission.
The CNMI Government has spent way over 1-million dollars on the Cannabis Tourism Industry and there has only been a little over 500 thousand collected based on past CPA Reporting. Now they are saying they just collected over 200 thousand in this fiscal year which is possible but that doesn’t cover the 1-million spent and the 300-thousand plus the Government had to spend this year on the entire Cannabis operation — we’re still in the RED! The Garment Industry brought in 25-million plus a year and WE need at least a couple of million from the Cannabis Industry a year if it’s going to be a real contributing industry. I’m an Economist who sees the BIG picture and in just three weeks I had the Hotel Association ready to try and help, as WE must help them fill rooms or lose another one, the Senate President and the Speaker were ready to fix the problem, MVA was ready to assist with strategies & advertisement, the Mayor RB was really ready to help because he knows WE need NEW Money, and even most of the Dispensaries were ready to do their part,” that would equate to an “increased DEMAND for more airline seats & even flights and increase the revenues of many local businesses & the government — as REAL Reforms are system wide! I had assembled all the major stakeholders to at least TRY to make it a real industry and these good reforms will always wins out over evil, it just takes time for everyone to see the LIGHT, as the Governor just might call me back.
However, now it’s back to a bunch of stores just selling weed with no accountability and no Tourism in the industry and no events or activities. But that’s the CNMI for you and why people continue to LEAVE! The Police can’t even write a ticket, and the prosecutor can’t even prosecute because the Commission has yet to write the fines for ticketing that will still need to go to the legislature, which is redundancy and why I wanted the Municipal Councils to simply write the local Ordinances for THEIR island, as one shoe does not fit all. People are even beating marijuana cases. But more importantly and FYI readers, our Tourists’ countries have citizens returning from the U.S. mainland every day where there are 23 states with legalized marijuana and they are not being harassed, as times have changed but the CNMI hasn’t, and that’s for TRUE and SAD! All the Government employees who are experiencing the realness of “austerity” being short a day on their paycheck DESERVE BETTER!!! Now click funny to that my bigot critics in the comment section and PROVE you could care less about the People — but God ain’t sleeping!
I totally understand how the Governor felt waking up to read the mess they made as he wanted to WAIT until things were firmly in place to speak on the issue. The Governor also doesn’t have time now to “referee” as we see with the quarry issue, as 902 is pending. But it was to be expected given I was stepping on toes that needed to GO!!! I was really hoping the Governor would have put his foot down, like Governor Babauta did when the BOE tried to get rid of me because I was trying to organize teachers to gain their Federal Collective Bargaining Rights. Someone leaked the letter to the news I sent to the Governor with the explicit intentions of getting the Governor to do exactly what he did, ended it. However, it is only a pause as the legislature & the People are now fully aware of the problems with the industry, thanks to me. I’m sure this is not going to just go away when there are people missing a day on their paychecks due to austerity measures and there are other cuts that are being instituted.
To the Governor, I say THANKS for at least trying and giving me the opportunity and to the People I say, demand that the Cannabis Commission be resolved because they have wasted your money for six years. They are the biggest problem to turning what are “grocery store operations into a real Cannabis Tourism Industry.” The ugly was to be expected, I just thought it would have been too late to stop the reforms, but this is the CNMI where stopping progress is the norm. On a final note, I will share what I told the Governor, which is why he asked for my help: “If WE are not careful Guam has now legalized recreational usage and if WE don’t fix the “Tourism” aspect of the industry quick, fast and in-a-hurry Guam is going to capture the Cannabis Tourism Markets for our entire region FOREVER”! I must be doing something right to make such a fuss and I’m proud to be the whistleblower FOR the People!
One People, One Direction.
Ambrose M. Bennett is an Economist who minored in Sociology, a Political Scientist, a retired teacher & former CNMI Board of Education Member, a James Madison Fellow (U.S. Constitutional Scholar), a Fulbright-Hays & lifetime Humanities Scholar who resides in Kagman III in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
