Guam cannabis regulators are at odds with tourism officials over industry advertising and product sales in Tumon – one of the U.S. territory’s premier vacation hotspots – in an effort to protect its family-friendly image, the Guam Daily Post reports.
Guam legalized cannabis use and possession for adults 21-and-older in April 2019. Regulations allowing sales are still being devised.
Cannabis Control Board member Adrian Cruz said the district already has strip clubs, bars, and massage parlors and that tourism officials don’t complain about those businesses.
“You know the smell to me of hypocrisy is stronger than the waft of cannabis in the air. … This pandemic really can show us that we need to diversify…If we don’t evolve, we will perish to our own demise and we have to compete with lots of places in our area with nice beaches and nice things to offer, that are all family-friendly.” – Cruz during a CCC meeting on Monday via the Daily Post
In a formal comment on the rules, GVB Chairman P. Sonny Ada noted that Guam’s main tourism markets are Japan and Korea and that both nations are very conservative on cannabis and punish citizens harshly for cannabis-related crimes. The agency wants public cannabis consumption banned and opposes “the advertising and sales of cannabis in the Tumon tourist district.”
“From beaches, parks, sidewalks, bus stops and even hotel rooms, we need to ensure that our visitors and local families are not exposed in any way to unwanted cannabis effects that may disturb their experience of our island destination,” Ada wrote in the comment.
Therese Arriola, a member of the CCC, the Guam Visitors Bureau, and director of the Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, said tourism officials simply wanted their position on the record.
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