Sen. Henry H. San Nicolas, Covenant-Tinian, was absent.
In an interview yesterday, Torres said he will introduce a new proposal, this time to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana only.
But he wants it placed on the ballot so the people can decide.
Torres said he strongly believes there are people who are in dire need of marijuana’s medicinal properties especially those who have been enduring pain.
“The majority in the House voted for it but the Senate killed it so I think we better allow the people to decide,” he said.
The Senate session was held in Classroom B-2 of the Rota campus of Northern Marianas College and was witnessed by some 30 Rota junior and high school students.
“I had a feeling some of us were going to pass it for medicinal use but these teenagers obviously changed their [senators’] minds,” Sen. Juan M. Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, said in an interview following the session.
Sen. Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan, said he would have voted against the bill anyway.
He said he also opposes legalizing marijuana for medicinal use only.
He admitted, however, that the comments from the Rota students against marijuana legalization reinforced his opposition to the measure whose supporters said would generate new revenue for the cash-strapped CNMI government.
“The students’ presence and strong opposition confirmed my firm position. They further made me feel I was doing the right thing,” said Senator Torres who noted that the Legislature recently passed a no-smoking bill, “and now we are allowing people to smoke pot?”
Crisostimo said there should have been enough public education on the measure.
He said he understands that a lot of people will react negatively especially when they lack adequate knowledge about the issue.
He agreed that marijuana should be kept away from children but noted that medicinal marijuana can help ailing people.
“That is why it has to be done the right way,” said Crisostimo. He told the students that his ailing mother uses marijuana as a pain killer.
Senate Vice President Jude U. Hofschneider, R-Tinian, doubts the commonwealth has the “know-how” to utilize the medicinal properties of marijuana.
He then told the students, “My vote is to follow you guys.”
When Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, asked the students, “Do you know that marijuana has medicinal property?” some nodded.
“Smoking pot fries your mind like an egg on the pan. It makes you forgetful as it stays in your system,” Reyes told the students.
Sen. Jovita M. Taimanao, Ind.-Rota, said as chairwoman of the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee, she and her colleagues are trying to find ways to help the CNMI economy.
She said it was very hard for her to comment about a bill that was supposed to generate revenue.
As a former school principal, however, she added, “I have to make decision for you, students.”
Senator Ayuyu said “I don’t think we can guarantee that students like you won’t have access to marijuana once we legalize this even for medical purposes.”
The students agreed.
Sen. Frank Q. Cruz, R-Tinian, said once cultivation of marijuana becomes legal, students will end up helping their parents grow it on the farm.
Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, said he was against the bill “from the very start.”
Rota High School senior student Austin Delos Santos said once marijuana is legalized, minors “will see it every day.”
He expressed concern about second-hand “pot” smoke and “people who may do something crazy when they get high.”
Javil A. Manglona, also from Rota High School, said if legalized, marijuana will fall into the wrong hands and will be used for the wrong purposes.
“Please for the betterment of my generation and the future generation, please vote ‘no’ to the legalization of marijuana in the CNMI,” she asked the senators.
Abrahamson Takeshi, a sophomore at Rota High School, said: “We were doing fine economically even when marijuana was not legal.”
He also does not believe marijuana will be kept away from children once legalized.
“Cigarettes and alcohol are supposed to be restricted but there are many people my age who smoke and drink,” he added.
He said the government and the community will look bad if “pot” is legalized.
Legalizing marijuana, he added, “will increase our fear of going out.”
Mariah Barcinas, a junior high school student, said she was very disappointed with the House members who voted to pass the marijuana legalization bill.
“What makes our leaders strongly believe that the legalization of marijuana will not affect the children’s future?” she asked.
Barcinas said some parents allow their minor children to drink alcohol.
Adults, she added, also expose minors to alcohol by asking them to get beer from the ice box, for example.
“If marijuana is sold like alcohol, minor we will be exposed to it as well. Why should we let this happen?” she asked.
