Charleston, WV: State officials have collected millions in taxes and regulatory fees specific to the administration of the state’s medical cannabis access program but are refusing to spend it.
According to reporting by the news service Mountain State Spotlight, officials have collected an estimated $34 million dollars in revenue from the program – which became operational in late 2021. However, state officials have failed to allocate any of the money to fund research or other public health priorities, as stipulated by law. Rather, the money is being held in a credit union under the control of the state Treasurer’s office.
A spokesperson for the Treasurer’s office said that the funds “will remain unallocated until federal law changes.”
No other state that similarly collects marijuana-related taxes and fees withholds using those funds to pay for state-specific programs or projects.
According to the Spotlight, “If West Virginia distributed the entire fund today, roughly $19 million would go back to the Bureau for Public Health within the Department of Health, nearly $8 million to the Fight Substance Abuse Fund overseen by the Department of Health, $6 million to the Division of Justice and Community Services and $1.5 million to a special revenue account for law enforcement professional training and professional development programs.”
Several lawmakers who were involved in writing the state’s medical cannabis law told the Spotlight that they were unaware that officials were refusing to allocate the funds.
Read the full reporting from Mountain State Spotlight.