This past week, Thousands Of Arizona teachers walked out in protest of spiraling state funding for schools. While Gov. Doug Ducey rolls his eyes and insists he’s doing the best he can, the “education governor” may be overlooking a potential source of revenue: marijuana taxes.
While taxes from legalizing marijuana would never amount to the $650 million Ducey said the state needs to fund the 20 percent raise in teacher salaries, let alone the cash needed for other K-12 faculty and school supplies, certainly the millions in revenue are worth discussing.
During the 2016 campaign for Proposition 205, the last major push Arizona voters made for legalization (which ended up failing by less than 3 percentage points), the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimated $123 million in tax revenue from legal marijuana sales.
The proposition earmarked about $55 million for schools, including $22 million for operation costs, $22 million for full-day kindergarten programs and $11 million for programs on substance abuse.
This year, Reps. Mark Cardenas (D-Phoenix) and Todd Clodfelter (R-Tucson) proposed a resolution to ask voters to approve a proposition to legalize recreational marijuana on the November ballot.
While HCR 2037 has yet to receive a committee hearing (and likely won’t due to the stubborn stalemate plaguing Arizona’s marijuana legislation), Cardenas said tax revenue could reach $150 million.
“We plan to inject that as part of the budget discussions,” Cardenas told AZFamily.com. “You want $150 million for teachers for their cost of living adjustments, to make up a significant part of their raise? Here you go.”
Legalizing marijuana is like handing the state a pile of cash on a silver platter. Some may argue that an increase in enforcement costs, or the societal degradation eats up more than a recreational tax would bring in revenue, but Arizona and other states have only seen dollar signs from legal marijuana.
Since the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act passed in 2010, the Arizona Department of Health Services has a piggy bank of $40 million in revenue over the programs operation costs. Some of this money comes from patient and caregiver fees for renewing their cards, but the majority comes from dispensary fees.
With this sort of surplus, it’s hard to argue that legalizing marijuana increases costs.
Other states have dedicated some of their marijuana tax revenue to schools after legalization. Last summer, Colorado schools received a $300 million injection from marijuana tax revenue, the state lottery and the state land trust.
One of the state’s school construction programs has generated $1.2 billion for new schools since 2009, the Denver Post reports.
In Oregon, the state paid out $85 million in marijuana tax revenue last year for schools, public health, police and local governments, according to OregonLive.com.
While marijuana legalization doesn’t provide the entire answer on how to fund our schools (and perhaps wouldn’t need to provide any of the answer if state leadership properly supported public schooling), it could significantly soften the blow of other proposals to provide funding.
Perhaps the proposed 3.5 percent tax on individuals making more than $250,000 a year could look more like 2.5 percent. Perhaps Ducey’s fantasy of an improving economy wouldn’t sound so idealistic if it included the creation of a new market.
No matter what the plan is, a little social liberty could go a long way to supplementing the solution to school funding.
This article appears in May 3-9, 2018.
All these hypothetical monies falling from heaven. Cardenas has 150 million if we could only let the rest of the state light up.
“Colorado schools received a $300 million injection from marijuana tax revenue, the state lottery and the state land trust.”
Really pinch me, how much of that was Marijuana contribution like 2%
Or a CO. school district generated 1.2 billion since 2009 Denver posts reports pinch me again oh wait that wasn’t in marijuana but 20 years service bonds.
The AMA ( Arizona Marijuafiaso Association ) the junk bond, hedge fund lobbyists that are romancing Ducey for legitimacy. They offer your tax dollars through them or associates as exclusive representatives of the Marijuana Industry.
Heck they will even allow school districts that dont allow any of the industry . Then to receive monies that still carry felony arrests and convictions as they take monies of the taxation of it. Just to try and get legitimacy at the users peril and extortion.
Lets not think it’s Christmas we have a huge amount of monies in the coffers that is generating interest. These monies will be needed by the Department of Agriculture to start the implementation of oversight of growers to market 2020
Don’t give up the farm before harvest all this effort to get to this have the funding and the administrative in place. To give hypothetical s of 150 million, heck 2 billion by 2025 the sky is the limit when it comes to Bull Shit.
let me take a ignorant stab at blue collar citizen user patient math. Will be just rounding off numbers for a simple minded such as myself to under stand. I have had a card for 6 years now since 2012.
Today 150,000+ card holders @$150.00 or 22 million 500 thousand $22,500,000. Already administrative cost take the lions share of 60% right off the top 13 million leaving 9 million to be fought over.
Let’s just stick to the facts of school funding. Voters approved a tax increase to fund schools. It was swept into the general fund. Casino profits were supposed to fund schools. Except for a pittance, the money went to the general fund. It is time for a definite budget item for schools – teachers, repairs, etc. -that cannot be subverted to other funds. So far, it generally just looks like the money subsidizes tax cuts. Look, I’ve budgeted for my household and it takes being honest about costs and the state needs to do the same. Legislators need to follow the laws.
What facts?
Fact one this education budget does not belong in MMJ comments.
Fact two have school funding have to do with personal civil rights ?
Do we get get equitable social civil rights as long as we pay tribute? Is a persons rights infringed because they want to grow a plant of nature for themselves.
Do we nee to build another Jimmy Hoffa international extortion like the Teamsters?
The school funding is a legislative issue. I would for a morale issue not pay a cent into a earmarked educational fund from Marijuana.
I will go underground find an illegal grower. All the monies will be eaten up in enforcement and oversight.
Which is where it will end up anyway and 1% of the education will evaporate like a June day puddle. I dont see the reason to pay my potential adversaries as for failing education on account of marijuana. That is just, well progressive.
No one that I know does not want he schools to be properly funded.
Nor as well as every citizen equally represented in the legislature as well as can be attained and the strife to try and keep it that way.
However to build a separate governing entity with all the state powers of all Departments the Divisions.
To fund possibly 2% of the Education budget. All this does is keep marijuana it users in the cross hairs of exploitation/graft for years to come.
To use this Marijuana education rouge to fight the Legislature is not in my better interest or the Arizona’s as a whole. Do we really want to use Marijuana as a weapon of vengeance as proposed above?