This story originally appeared in the Statehouse Spotlight newsletter published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get coverage of the legislative session delivered to your email inbox Monday – Thursday; sign up for the free newsletter at mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter
State Treasurer Larry Pack has still not found a way to spend $34 million collected from the state’s medical marijuana program for substance abuse treatment, law enforcement training or research.
In October, Mountain State Spotlight reported the fund collected from fees, taxes and interest in the state’s medical marijuana program hadn’t been spent.
Under the law setting up the program, some of the money was to be used for research into the state’s medical cannabis program to determine whether it was working and where it could be improved.
However, due to marijuana’s long-standing classification as a Schedule I narcotic, the legal status of funds collected in the program has been in limbo. Narcotics with the Schedule I designation are deemed to have no acceptable medical use and are illegal.
That hasn’t stopped many of the 40 states with some kind of legalized market — whether recreational or medicinal — from spending monies they have collected. For instance, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio have all spent monies from the funds collected in their marijuana markets.
In October, Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, said he talked to State Treasurer Larry Pack about it. The treasurer, according to Woelfel, had assembled a team of experts to look into it.
But months later, days before another legislative session, the Treasurer’s Office had no plan for spending the money, but said they were working on a solution.
“A resolution is coming,” said Carrie Hodousek, spokesperson for the Treasurer’s Office.
In December, President Donald Trump requested to move marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III, which would classify marijuana as having some potential medical use. Hodousek said that could, in turn, change the legality of the money.
But that decision hasn’t been finalized.
And the timeline for the state treasurer to release his decision on spending the money is up in the air as well.
“We’re just told that we know it’s coming,” Hodousek said.
Woelfel, for his part, said he hasn’t heard anything from the Treasurer’s Office about the status of the money.
Reach reporter Henry Culvyhouse at henry@mountainstatespotlight.org.
