Indopedia All Things Marijuana
The Oregon Department of Revenue sent out an additional $85 million in funding to schools, police departments, public health programs, and local governments this week, entirely sourced from legal cannabis tax revenue. The state collected $108.6 million in local and state taxes between January 4th of last year and August 31st of this year. Nearly $10 million of that total went to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and the Department of Revenue to cover the costs of regulating, licensing, and taxing new canna-businesses.
Forty percent of the revenue (around $34 million) went to the State School Fund, which can redirect the money to schools to cover the costs of teacher salaries, textbooks, and teaching materials. The fund has currently been operating with a budget of $8.2 billion for every two years, mostly funded by taxes and lottery revenue. The Oregon State Police received another 15 percent of the cannabis sales revenue, just under $13 million.
A quarter of the total revenue went to health services, with the Oregon Health Authority receiving 5 percent, amounting to $4.25 million. A spokesperson for the health authority said that this revenue will replace general state…
