Longtime CNMI lawmaker Stanley Torres recalls push for marijuana legalization

The CNMI legalized the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana in September 2018. Nearly five years later, residents are experiencing the highs and lows of the industry.

Former lawmaker Stanley Torres, who was one of the first to push to legalize pot, served the Commonwealth for more than two decades. 

"I did my job, my part. And Senator Sixto Igisomar picked it up and made it happen. So right now it happened and now people are enjoying their freedom of not being penalized," Torres said. 

It’s that freedom that he envisioned when he first ran for office in 1989. He wasn’t successful in legalizing weed in his time, but he did start the conversation that gradually shifted the community in favor of it. Now, as he turns 82 years old, he reflects on that time.

He added, "I tried marijuana before I became a congressman and I know the effects of marijuana. Everybody says marijuana is no good because it is dangerous. And I said I tried marijuana and I am still alive. So I compared the marijuana and the alcohol. And alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana."

He admits, even his sons in law enforcement initially pushed back on the initiative. But, as he still does so today, he keeps an open mind and an open ear. He said, "People came to me and they asked me to introduce and they would support it…I have to listen to my constituents."

His son, Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres, says it's that leadership style he hopes to bring to the job, too. He told KUAM, "I tell him every day, you are my father but you are my mentor and my hero. I learned a lot and I still learn a lot. I am the person I am today because of him. He was a pioneer. He did things that he felt was right for the people, for the CNMI."