The House of Representatives in the Northern Marianas has approved a bill decriminalising marijuana use for adult and medical use.
The bill now heads back to the Senate, which approved a similar proposal in May.
It allows people aged 21 and older and those with certain medical conditions to possess limited amounts of marijuana, marijuana-infused products, and marijuana extracts.
It also creates a Homegrown Marijuana Registry, through which adults and patients can register to grow a limited number of marijuana plants.
The CNMI Legislature Photo: Supplied
The legislation directs the CNMI Legislature to enact taxes and fees on all marijuana sold by a producer, as well as an excise tax on retail sales of marijuana for adult use.
Medical marijuana is exempt.
The CNMI would be the first U.S. territory to legalise and regulate marijuana for adult use.
In 2015 Guam decriminalised cannabis albeit for medicinal purposes only.
Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington have already legalised adult cannabis use.
The approval of Joseph Deleon Guerrero's bill comes a little over a week after the House of Representatives rejected a Senate bill legalising marijuana use.
