CNMI marijuana bill fails

8:40 am on 15 August 2016

A widely-supported bill in the Northern Marianas aimed at putting the issue of legalising marijuana before the people in a referendum has failed to make the ballot.

Senator Sixto Igi-somar wanted to introduce the bill after the medical use of marijuana was approved in neighbouring Guam in 2014.

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Photo: AFP

It was hoped that it would be able to give pain relief to people suffering from serious medical conditions such as cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Mr Igi-somar said a busy CNMI legislature was to blame for the failed bill.

He hopes to introduce a similar bill in the next legislature.

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