Last October, Mountain State Spotlight discovered $34 million from West Virginia’s medical cannabis program had never been spent, despite state law prescribing its specific uses.
Since then, the Treasurer’s Office has said it is working through the legalities of spending the money. Numerous other states already spend the revenue they get from marijuana sales. On Tuesday, State Treasurer Larry Pack said he thinks his office is close to figuring it out.
“I think we’re really close to getting it and making sure that money is available for the programs that it was intended for,” Pack said.
Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, said he read an article about the situation and decided to submit a bill to fix it.
“There were at least 20-some states doing this today, they don’t seem to have a problem with it, and they’re all spending it, right?” Worrell said.
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West Virginia has collected $34 million from its medical cannabis program. It hasn’t spent a penny.
Under state law, millions of dollars from medical cannabis sales should’ve funded medical research, addiction help and law enforcement. But state officials have said they can’t touch the money.
Under the bill, all money from the sale of medical cannabis would revert to the state’s general fund, then be transferred to fund the Office of Medical Cannabis, research programs at Marshall University and West Virginia University, the Fight Substance Abuse Fund and testing of medical cannabis at the Department of Agriculture.
Previously, a chunk of the money was supposed to go to law enforcement support, but Worrell said that didn’t make sense.
“The thought process was, how is that helping the medical cannabis program?” Worrell said.
But House Finance Chair Del. Vernon Criss, R-Wood, said he’s reluctant to put it on his committee’s agenda, due to the legal gray area surrounding marijuana. Worrell said he believes there is political will to get the bill passed.
He said, “we have medical cannabis on the books, right? That means we support it. We need to make sure we’re not trying to always make it fail.”