The then-AG also urged the Public Health secretary to lobby for the removal of “pot” from the CNMI list of controlled substances. When the Public Health secretary’s letter to the then-AG was leaked to the press, there was public outcry. “Just the idea that the highest law enforcement of the land is even thinking about it is very disheartening, frightening. It gives the impression that we’re so desperate to generate some money that we would sell our souls,” Sen. Pete P. Reyes was quoted as saying. The Saipan Chamber of Commerce board members announced that they were against the decriminalization of marijuana, citing “documented associated social problems.” The AG eventually dropped the subject because, as the Public Health secretary pointed out, it was “generat[ing] negative public reaction for the administration.”
The governor, however, has already been re-elected and so it shouldn’t be surprising that his BFF in the Legislature introduced the marijuana legalization bill and succeeded in securing its passage in the House even though the House Natural Resources Committee wanted it shelved. The bill is now in the Senate, giving the senators another chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the governor whom they terribly disappointed after they indicated support for the Saipan casino bill only to chicken out at the last moment. (It was also the Senate that rejected the inclusion of the improved status referendum question on the Nov. 2 ballot, which the administration believed would help its doomed delegate candidate.)
The governor has already announced that he’s “OK” with medicinal marijuana (which appears to be the real intent — or “Plan B.”) Some key senators say they, too, may support it. And so now, the stars have finally aligned on Capital Hill. Your elected officials will once again pass key legislation without bothering to know its possible consequences.
Headed nowhere
WHERE exactly is the CNMI headed? What should the commonwealth do now that its government is practically bankrupt and its economy is in tatters? The administration promised “better times” but has absolutely no good ideas to offer. It has imposed paycuts while still hiring supporters and dispensing fat contracts to cronies. It continues to stiff government vendors and the Retirement Fund. It badmouths the feds while begging for more federal assistance. It believes that the key to economic recovery is a casino on Saipan. And legalizing marijuana.
For an administration that didn’t receive a resounding mandate from voters, it has been extremely divisive and prefers to shove its views down your throat instead of debating them. During the recent economic forum organized by the feds, the governor described it as “the right thing to do.” But the island has hosted similar gatherings before and most, if not all, of the recommendations discussed during the recently held forum are not new. So much talk already. Where is the action? What is the CNMI waiting for?
Misinformation
THE Tribune’s banner headline on Wednesday proclaimed: “November 2011 is not doomsday.” Its lead paragraph quoted Interior’s Babauta as saying that the expiration in Nov. 2011 of the CNMI umbrella permits “will not result in the mass exit of legal foreign workers that help fuel the economy.” Several paragraphs later, here’s the direct quote from Babauta: “I don’t know if there will be mass exodus of workers.”
This is a very sensitive issue that affects the local economy and the lives of thousands of nonresidents in the CNMI. There are so many (absurd if not laughable) rumors out there already and it doesn’t help if CNMI
reporters, almost all of whom are nonresidents, are, unwittingly or otherwise, creating more misinformation. So many unemployed foreign workers have chosen to remain on island and dip into their small savings because of their tenacious belief that there will be green cards at the end of the, well, rainbow.
But the yet to be announced federal regulations will not grant improved status. Only the U.S. Congress can do that by passing a new law. Interior has nothing more to say — and Babauta clearly said nothing while saying a lot. His department has already done its part by submitting a recommendation to U.S. lawmakers who have ignored it. This January, the Republicans are taking over the U.S. House of Representatives and they tend to be “hardcore” on immigration issues.
That is how things stand right now. Once again, we urge nonresident workers to consult with immigration lawyers or with USCIS instead of believing whatever rumor they may have heard lately.
