The legalization of adult-use marijuana in Arizona spurred the establishment of the Justice Reinvestment Program, an initiative codified in Proposition 207. It finally came to fruition last December.
The Justice Reinvestment Program essentially circumvents 10% of taxes collected from cannabis sales to be given to Arizona nonprofits.
Recreational purchases of cannabis in Arizona are subjected to being taxed at a rate of at least 22%, a number that includes the standard sales tax of 5.6% and an additional 16% excise tax. According to the state treasury records, the Justice Reinvestment Fund earned about $26 million last summer. Arizona law states that 35% of the Justice Reinvestment Fund will be given to the Justice Reinvestment Program.
As for the remainder of taxes collected via recreational cannabis sales, nearly 34% is dedicated to community colleges, 31% is dedicated to public safety, such as the police and fire departments, and 25% goes toward the Arizona Highway Fund.
At the end of last December, the Arizona Department of Health Services announced the nonprofits that would receive the first round of grants funded by the Justice Reinvestment Program.
ADHS distributed grant funding by analyzing local communities that were most affected by cannabis prohibition. Listening sessions were held to assess what programs would be the most valuable to each area.
Community members spoke in favor of programs such as affordable housing, technology training for the formerly incarcerated, access to healthy food, neighborhood safety and infrastructures such as parks and community centers, cultural awareness training, and substance use education and prevention.
Based on these community needs, ADHS chose the following organizations to receive funding:
• Northland Family Help Center.
• Hushabye Nursery.
• Axiom Community of Recovery.
• Cihuapactli Collective.
• Stuck Community Acupuncture Inc. • Phoenix Indian Center.
• Arouet Foundation.
• Friendly House.
• Jobs for Arizona’s Graduates (JAG).
• Persevere.
• Constructing Circles of Peace.
• Regional Center for Border Health Inc. – Yuma.
• Regional Center for Border Health Inc. – Parker.
• Arizona Democracy Resource Center.
• Southern Arizona Legal Aid Inc.
• The Bambi Fund.
• Just Communities Arizona.
• Our Sister Our Brother.
According to a Dec. 21 press release, “moving forward, the Office of Health Equity will develop a robust program evaluation process to ensure that funded projects serve the intended communities and create a positive impact.
“The program evaluation will assess if awardees meet their determined goals and the data collected will be used in efforts to continuously improve the program. The office will also facilitate a community of practice for all awardees and interested stakeholders to share best practices, lessons learned and build partnerships to support the communities served.”
This is a substantial step forward in Arizona’s cannabis industry and exemplifies the power that Legislature has to spark cohesive change within our community.
