“I don’t want to waste the money on something not dedicated to cannabis.”
By Henry Culvyhouse, Mountain State Spotlight
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at https://mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter.
Lawmakers cleared a key hurdle Wednesday to free millions of dollars in the state’s medical marijuana fund.
In October, Mountain State Spotlight reported $34 million collected from fees and taxes from the medical marijuana program. The Treasurer’s Office said the money could not be spent due to the legal status of marijuana on the federal level, despite dozens of states already doing so.
Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, introduced a bill to spend the money. Lawmakers in the House of Delegates passed the bill 79-12 March 4, the last day for bills to leave their chamber of origin during the session.
But before delegates took their vote, they took time to carve up what is now estimated to be nearly $38 million.
Del. Michael Hite, R-Berkeley, successfully amended the bill to include $10 million each to West Virginia University and Marshall University for research into ibogaine, a hallucinogenic drug that is used in
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