The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) may have a tiny population, but the U.S. territory in the South Pacific could be about to make a huge impact on the global debate about marijuana legalization.
A key CNMI Senate committee will hold a hearing on a cannabis reform bill on Tuesday and, if its supporters get their way, the territory could join the eight U.S. states that have already enacted legalization, along with the District of Columbia, according to Marijuana Moment.
The legislation, filed in August by Republican Sen. Sixto Igisomar, wouldn’t legalize marijuana right away. Rather, if the bill is approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Ralph Torres, also a Republican, CNMI’s nearly 18,000 registered voters will get a chance to end prohibition at the ballot box in November 2018.
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