 When New York first legalized medical marijuana eight years ago, a bill was passed to establish a medical trust fund from a portion of the marijuana tax revenue for the state.
The bill stipulated that portions of the fund were to go to different state service departments. 5% of the money was to be allocated to alcoholism and substance abuse services, including drug prevention, counseling, and treatment services. Another 5% of the money was to be transferred to the Division of Criminal Justice Services, to be put towards a “program of discretionary grants to state and local law enforcement agencies.” New York Cannabis Insider investigated and found that each of these agencies have received about a million and a half dollars for their respective programs. But strangely, despite eight years having passed, not a penny of their money has been spent, and the programs have never seen the benefits that the original bill had intended. New York Cannabis Insider reached our to the Senator who had originally sponsored New York’s medical cannabis legislation in 2014, Senator Diane Savino. After she was informed of the situation, said she intends to send a formal letter to each agency asking for an explanation on why these funds have not yet been used in any capacity. Hopefully these funds will start being used soon to benefit the residents of New York. Comments are closed.
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