“LET’S give the cannabis industry a chance to grow,” CNMI Cannabis Commission Managing Director Monique Boyer Sablan said.
The businesses that applied or are applying for a commercial license are taking a risk amid a global pandemic, she added.
“The cannabis industry will not be the driver of the NMI economy, and never will be, but it will be complementary to the other drivers of the economy such as tourism,” she said.
“Licensed businesses are supposed to pay the cannabis tax — that’s revenue. Give us about six months to actually see what that the cannabis tax [collection] looks like. It’s only a year ago that the first license was issued. I think people are really pushing to see the numbers, and we also want to see the numbers.”
She said, “Application, licensing and/or violation fees are not revenues — those are regulatory fees. Those fees go directly to our operation so that our office can continue to do the work.”
Law enforcement training
On Friday, the commission conducted a Cannabis Act law enforcement training for Department of Public Safety officers and their supervisors at the Northern Marianas College T-1 pod with Sablan and Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds as speakers.
Sablan said the training, among other things, clarified the relationship between the commission and law enforcement agencies.
“It’s been a bit of gray area, a lot of us are not sure, at one point, who is enforcing what, who is enforcing with the business establishments, who is enforcing the marijuana regulations in the community. This training is to establish our relationship and what our [enforcement] goals are,” she added.
She said the commission is also planning a similar law enforcement training on Rota and Tinian sometime in May, and with other law enforcement agencies such as Alcoholic Beverage & Tobacco Control, Customs, and the fire department.
A DPS citation book is currently being created, Sablan added.
For his part, Hinds said the training aimed to bring DPS and the cannabis commission together so they can be on the same page.
“Being on the same page is important because we want the marijuana industry to flourish legally,” Hinds added.
“If it flourishes legally, that means it can contribute to the economy. And more work now through training and education means fewer people being in trouble with marijuana laws later,” he said.
“We also want to enforce and emphasize no smoking marijuana in the presence of a minor, that is why it’s important that DPS knows the cannabis law,” Hinds said.
Asked what is the most important part of the cannabis law that the community should know, Hinds said, “Get a license — having a commercial or non-commercial marijuana license can contribute to the local economy.”
As for prosecuting violators, Hinds said:
“In certain situations, like the importation of marijuana, we do prosecute, but what we have been doing over the past year, we have been warning especially people who have been growing it at their homes. We have not been prosecuting — we are probably not going to be doing some prosecuting when it comes to people at their homes when it comes to compliance; but if they choose not to be in compliance and they choose to grow an excessive amount, then there’s a chance that we do prosecute…and we can confiscate their marijuana.”
Hinds added, “We are not going to prosecute or make an arrest unless there is a situation where we are seeing the danger of trafficking or delivering or selling to children, and other stuff.”
CNMI Cannabis Commission Managing Director Monique Boyer Sablan and Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds pose for a photo with the Department of Public Safety officers who underwent law enforcement training on the Cannabis Act Friday at Northern Marianas College.
