It's being referred to as a matter of critical importance, Bill-260 got favorable support during a public hearing today.

The measure would ultimately waive the lab testing requirement for regulated cannabis businesses until a lab is put in place.

It's been a struggle for potential shop owners like Stephen Roberto. He testified at the Guam Congress building in support of the measure.

“In 2019, the legislature established the legal framework for the cannabis industry for our island. Five years later, instead of a taxed and legal market, there’s an illegal market operating alongside a bureaucratic maze that makes it at best expensive and at worst impossible for Guam residents to establish a cannabis business on island. As just one example, I received my responsible official card in October 2022, it’s actually in September but they held the cards back until October,” Roberto said.

He added, “Yet after receiving my responsible official card, I made the difficult decision to stop moving forward on my cannabis business because it’s a waste of money to pursue a license and start a business growing product that cannot be sold due to a lack of certified testing facility.”

The road to growing the cannabis industry locally has been met with constant delays.

On Monday, April 8 KUAM will have a new special premiering called Marijuana Marianas.

Our Matsuki Hirayama brings us a look at the state of the cannabis industry on Guam and the CNMI and the journey to get where we are today.

You can watch our KUAM News special, Marijuana Marianas scheduled to air April 8 at 6:30 p.m. following Primetime.