Economic studies on cannabis amendment in the works September 27, 2022 By Griffin Coop Two economic studies on a proposed measure to legalize recreational marijuana are in the works and one is expected to be released this week. Eddie Armstrong, chair of Responsible Growth Arkansas, told host Roby Brock on KARK public affairs TV show Capitol View on Sunday that his organization would be releasing an economic study on the Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment. The group plans to release the study this week, Armstrong said in a follow-up message to Arkansas Cannabiz. Jerry Cox also told Brock that he has asked the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration for an analysis of the expected tax revenue from recreational marijuana. Cox said he had not received a study from the department, so we followed up. Here’s what we found out from Scott Hardin, spokesman for the department: Following the decision last week from the Arkansas Supreme Court, our Department will now consider the potential revenue impact of the recreational proposal. We do not have any projections at this time. However, we will look to states such as New Mexico that adopted recreational in addition to an existing medical marijuana program. We can look to results from other states, revenue from our medical program and industry statistics to develop estimates for Arkansas. The proposed amendment, which the Supreme Court cleared for the ballot last week, would impose a 10% supplemental tax on recreational marijuana in addition to any state and local taxes. According to the amendment, 15% of the tax revenue would fund a stipend for certified law enforcement officers, 10% would go to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and 5% would go to support drug courts. The measure would eliminate the tax on medical marijuana.
