Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders used her State of the State address last week to announce another good use of medical marijuana taxes.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Arkansas since 2016 after a related amendment was supported by the state’s voters. However, it wasn’t until mid-May 2019 that it became available to patients.
Since that time, the program has grown well and there were close to 109,000 active medical marijuana ID cards as at the end of last year. Purchases of cannabis medicines in the state are are subject to a 6.5% state sales tax and 4% privilege tax. The proceeds of the sales tax goes towards funding public schools and food insecurity.
The two state taxes generated $28.5 million in 2024, with the running total since the industry launched approaching $150 million by the end of last year.
In her address, the Governor said:
“I’ve already announced that Arkansas will participate in Summer EBT this year,” the Governor said. “Today, I’m announcing my plan to use Medical Marijuana money to make both this program and our free lunch and breakfast programs financially sustainable for years to come. We will also use those funds to make school breakfast in Arkansas completely free.”
The USA’s National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted program operating in close to 100,000 public/ non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions across the country. Children from families with incomes below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Children from families with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals, while children from families with incomes above this threshold pay full price; but their meals are subsidized to some degree.
But many children who receive free or reduced-price lunches during the school year miss out on access to those meals during the summer. This is where the Summer EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) comes into play. This is a food assistance program targeted towards children in low-income families during the summer months that was established by Congress in 2023.
