CNMI Cannabis Commission reports flat collections, gaps in tracking and disposal procedures

Members of the House Committee on Cannabis heard an update from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Cannabis Commission on revenue, licensing and enforcement capacity and were told the commission lacks a fully implemented tracking system and formal procedures to document disposal of unsold product.

The committee, chaired by House Committee Chair Danita Kaipat Yantumay, heard that cannabis tax and licensing collections have been uneven and that the commission is pursuing a lower-cost, in-house alternative to an expensive commercial tracking system after joining the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANRA).

The commission’s managing director, Mickey Adevangelista, reported collection figures the commission has tracked: $170,662.68 in cannabis tax collections in fiscal 2022, $283,832.88 in fiscal 2023, and $169,110.42 for the first seven months of fiscal 2024 (October 2023–April 2024). Application and licensing fees reported were $53,492.50 in fiscal 2022, $118,350 in fiscal 2023 and $106,750 in fiscal 2024, the commission said. A Department of Finance certification as of Oct. 31, 2024, was reported by the commission for the special accounts; the commission reported $366,217.50 in the special account for application and license fees (15‑01B) and reported an amount for the cannabis tax account (15‑01S) as stated to the committee. After payroll and board compensation the commission said there was about $54,263.92 remaining in an appropriation tied to Public Law 23‑20 (PL 003).

Adevangelista said the commission is working with the Department of Finance to resolve missing months in the Munis reporting system and that the commission has 18 active licensees: four marijuana producer Class 1 licenses, three producer Class 2, one producer Class 3, two processors, seven retailers and one marijuana lounge Class 1. He also told the committee the commission counted 70 active employees associated with licensees as of Sept. 30, 2024. The commission identified three pending applicants (one producer Class 1, one retailer and one lounge Class 1) and said one lounge applicant was approved Feb. 28, 2025 and was pending payment; projected licensing fees from pending applicants were about $12,000.

Lawmakers pressed the commission for details on enforcement and tracking. Adevangelista told the committee the commission had not purchased the commercial cannabis tracking system originally planned after quoted annual license costs reached roughly $100,000; instead the commission joined CANRA and is exploring developing a lower‑cost, in‑house tracking solution informed by Washington state regulators. "Cannabis is not an essential item. It's more of a luxury, product," Adevangelista told the committee when asked about revenue variability.

Committee members raised several enforcement and data‑integrity concerns: whether inspectors have performed announced or unannounced inspections of grower records, whether monthly reports match harvests and sales, how unsold flower is disposed and whether disposal is witnessed or documented. Commission staff said monthly reporting from licensees is collected (often in Excel), producers report harvest dates and amounts by email, and the commission has used a loaner vehicle from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct inspections. The commission said disposal is handled by licensees as part of a disposal plan in their standard operating procedures; most licensees bag expired product and send it to the transfer station for disposal, and the commission reviews a licensee’s disposal plan during application review. The commission acknowledged it has not published a single standardized procedure for observing or documenting destruction of product.

Members stressed that without tighter documentation of disposal and stronger on‑site enforcement, diversion to an illicit market could continue. Representative Marissa Flores, lawmakers from outer islands and others urged the commission to formalize standard operating procedures (SOPs) for disposal, to publish clear enforcement protocols and to return to the committee with updates on tracking system procurement and staffing.

The commission also described staffing and budget tensions. The commission reported board compensation of about $275,000 and staff payroll near $143,000; lawmakers said that distribution limits the commission’s ability to expand inspections and enforcement. Adevangelista and the commission said they have asked OMB, the governor’s office and the Legislature to reinstate three commission positions in the general fund to free special funds for additional hires.

Lawmakers from Rota and Tinian asked about island participation and fees. The commission said it has used statutory authority to reduce application fees by up to 25% for more isolated islands and has proposed statutory amendments to allow special‑event permitting and to address other statutory limits; the commission said it would provide proposed amendment language to the committee.

Committee members asked the commission to return with a short written update next quarter including: a timeline or milestones for a tracking system (or documentation of outreach to Washington state regulators), a cost‑benefit analysis showing the impact of proposed changes to commissioner pay and staff funding, a clear SOP or regulation for disposal and enforcement, and an island‑specific plan for encouraging applicants from Tinian and Rota.

The committee closed the discussion after commissioners and staff answered follow‑up questions and the members asked the commission to provide the requested materials at the next quarterly appearance.