Chairwoman Teresita A. Santos, Ind.-Rota, said her committee will meet tomorrow to decide the fate of House Bill 17-47.
Introduced by Rep. Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan, the bill seeks to legalize marijuana in the CNMI.
Public hearings held on Rota, Tinian and Saipan indicated that CNMI residents were divided on the issue, Santos said, and this is why her committee is reconsidering its earlier report which recommended “filing,” or shelving the bill.
Those who wanted the bill rejected were the officials and staff of the Public School System, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Public Safety’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.
However on Tinian, majority of those who testified supported the bill.
Those who oppose it fear the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding while those who support it cites marijuana’s medicinal benefits.
Santos said her committee may offer amendments to ensure stricter regulations on the use of marijuana.
“We’ll see what course of action the committee may decide to take,” she added.
