Taxes and fees assessed on Oklahoma’s cannabis industry produced enough revenue to pay the salaries of almost 800 teachers, spokeswoman Terri Watkins announced.
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) contributed $42 million to the state Department of Education, Ms. Watkins said. That sum included $30 million appropriated by the state Legislature plus $12 million from the OMMA, she said.
“I asked the Department of Education how far that money would go, and they said it represented the salaries of 794 teachers,” Watkins said. That averages out to $52,896 per teacher.
State Question 788, which voters across the state endorsed in 2018 to legalize medical marijuana use in Oklahoma, decrees that 75% of any surplus tax revenue from medical marijuana sales will be routed to the state’s General Revenue Fund and may be spent only for common education. The remaining 25% is earmarked for the state Health Department “for drug and alcohol rehabilitation.”
“Surplus” means any tax proceeds that exceed the agency’s operational budget.
Watkins, the OMMA public information officer, said in August that the Authority’s budget last year was approximately $25 million.
During the first nine months of this year the 7% medical marijuana tax generated a little over $41 million, and state and local sales tax collections on sales of marijuana products produced $52.5 million, for a nine-month total of $93.5 million, Oklahoma Tax Commission ledgers reflect.
During the past 24 months the medical marijuana tax has generated $65.3 million, the Tax Commission reported. Tax receipts from sales of marijuana products climbed to record highs in 18 of the last 24 months.
Almost one-tenth of all Oklahomans – 353,796 – had received medical marijuana patient licenses as of October 5. The State Health Department also has issued 9,458 business licenses, 5,828 growers licenses, 1,216 processors licenses, and 2,003 dispensary licenses, Watkins reported.
