school lunches

Arkansas Using Medical Cannabis Taxes to Fund Free School Lunches

Arkansas is using medical cannabis tax revenues to fight food insecurity in the state, with $87 million sent to schools throughout the state to help students access low-cost or free lunches.

Full story after the jump.

Portions of Arkansas’ medical cannabis tax revenues are being used to fight food insecurity in the state, KATV reports. The state will send $87 million to schools throughout Arkansas to help students access low-cost or free lunches.

Medical Marijuana Commission spokesperson Scott Hardin told KATV that the state has, so far, collected $115 million from the cannabis tax.

“…If someone is on a reduced school lunch, if they are now paying 50 cents to a dollar – that medical marijuana revenue steps in and pays that to ensure that a student gets that for free. So really students in the state will be not having to pay whatever that burden is. Fifty cents, a $1.50 to have reduced school lunch so it really is, it’s affecting Arkansans in a positive way.”

Hardin to KATV

The funds had been earmarked to help the University of Arkansas Medical School to obtain a National Cancer Center designation, but Hardin did not explain why the change was made.

Since the medical cannabis program launched in the state in 2016, sales have topped $1 billion. According to state data, there were 98,011 active medical cannabis ID cards in Arkansas as of December 2.   

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