Divided on Dividends

Measure 91 passed in 2014 and legalized recreational cannabis in Oregon. The measure outlined certain designations to disperse tax revenue. Oregon currently imposes a 17 percent tax at the points of sale within the recreational market. The tax money that is collected by the state government is then reallocated to community services and state organizations.

On May 17, the Senate voted unanimously 30-0 to pass Senate Bill 845, which redistributes the transfer of money to cities and counties. Under SB-845, some of the tax revenue will be taken away from schools and put toward funding drug addiction services.

The Oregon Department of Revenue (ODR) is responsible for holding retailers accountable for paying sales taxes. Taxes are collected and distributed by the ODR, according to the percentages written into Oregon cannabis law. The amount of revenue brought in by recreational sales far exceed what was predicted, and revenue increased even more with the allowed sale of edibles and concentrates, which began in June 2016. Oregon has brought in almost $70 million in tax revenue from the sale of recreational cannabis to date.

“The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program provides cannabis to Oregonians as medicine; it is not a dangerous habit-forming drug that requires addiction treatment.”

When Oregon voters made choices about cannabis legalization in 2014, voters were told how the revenue from legalized cannabis would help Oregon schools and students, and many supported Measure 91 for this reason. Measure 91 directed 40 percent of the available revenue would go to the Common School Fund, which has been around since Oregon became a state. Thirty-five percent of the revenue goes to law enforcement, and five percent goes to the Oregon Health Authority with only 20 percent going to mental health and addiction services. The Oregon Senate, however, now is attempting to allocate a bigger percentage of that revenue toward mental health and addiction treatment services.

If passed, SB-845 would channel almost $20 million away from the Common School Fund. Lawmakers who are supportive of the new bill would like to see the money spent on drug addiction services.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program provides cannabis to Oregonians as medicine; it is not a dangerous habit-forming drug that requires addiction treatment. There are several vocal organizations that are opposed to the bill. The Oregon School Boards Association, for instance, called the bill “unacceptable.”

Oregon’s recreational cannabis sales are off the charts, creating an unprecedented amount of revenue to be used by government agencies. Oregon finally has the funds to improve our schools, however, many are left wondering who will end up with the surplus, and how we can use cannabis tax revenue to benefit Oregonians the most.

The last-minute details concerning how much revenue would go towards mental health and addiction treatment need to be ironed out by the Finance and Revenue Committee. As of mid-May, the bill was referred to Revenue and heads to the House for approval.