Legal Marijuana in RI: Big Questions About Revenue and Addiction
GoLocalProv News Team
Legal Marijuana in RI: Big Questions About Revenue and Addiction
Two major questions are emerging: how much revenue will be generated and whether the increased costs associated with addiction will consume significant portions of the state's anticipated additional revenue.
According to a range of experts, about 10% to 15% of marijuana users will advance to addiction with other significantly stronger drugs -- usage that will require drug treatment and have other societal costs.
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Marijuana Revenue
McKee’s proposed FY2022 budget estimates legalized marijuana will only generate $1.7 million in net revenue to the state in its first year due to what the budget office calls “substantial startup costs.” In later years, the annual revenue is expected to generate $17 million.
“There would be a controlled annual rollout of 25 retail licenses (projected for three years), with five licenses each year set aside for qualifying MBE applicants,” said McKee’s budget office states.
In Massachusetts, the Commonwealth has seen total sales of $1.24 billion between the launch of the program in November 2018 and March 12 of 2021. This year alone, Massachusetts facilities have sold $189 million.
And, through August of 2020, the Commonwealth had collected $122 million in less than two calendar years. Massachusetts has benefited from being the first in the region and attracting shoppers from border states like Rhode Island. And, Massachusetts has six times the population of Rhode Island.
Drug abuse is on the rise in Rhode Island, according to state officials -- and according to experts, numbers will increase if marijuana is legalized.
“The amount paid by the State for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in Rhode Island during State Fiscal Year 2020 is $80,634,847.39, but this is a very narrow window into treatment costs,” said Robert Dulski, spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Administration.
“Recreational marijuana use can lead to the use of other substances,” said Joseph Wendelken spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Health.
Dr. Michael Fine, the former Rhode Island Director of Health says, “For about 10% of new marijuana users this will be a gateway drug and for 90% it won’t. We need to be prepared to spend 50% of the new revenue on treatment.”
“Recreational marijuana use can lead to the use of other substances. That is why the Department believes that a strong regulatory enforcement structure coupled with robust prevention efforts, as reflected in the Governor’s proposal, is necessary to prevent youth and other problematic use of marijuana,” said Randy Edgar, spokesperson for the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals.
Dulski added that “accurate treatment data is difficult to quantify and misrepresents the real cost of the crisis. This data does not take into account all of the additional costs related to SUD. The real cost of the crisis is not just in SUD treatment, but also in areas such as the criminal justice system, child welfare-related removals where SUD is a factor, treatment for medical and behavioral health conditions that can be connected to SUD (for example, Hepatitis C, HIV or emergency room visits), travel expenses for treatment, claims where SUD is listed within later diagnoses but is a significant factor in affecting a person’s general health, lost productivity and many other non-claims related costs.”
In a message to Brown University students, for the Universities Health Services advises, “More and more studies are finding that marijuana has addictive properties. Both animal and human studies show physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms from marijuana, including irritability, restlessness, insomnia, nausea and intense dreams. Tolerance to marijuana also builds up rapidly. Heavy users need 8 times higher doses to get the same effects as infrequent users.”
Brown continues, “For a small percentage of people who use it, marijuana can be highly addictive. It is estimated that 10% to 14% of users will become heavily dependent. In 2006 marijuana was responsible for 16% of all admissions to treatment facilities in the U.S. Because the consequences of marijuana use can be subtle and insidious, it is more difficult to recognize signs of addiction. Cultural and societal beliefs that marijuana cannot be addictive make it less likely for people to seek help or to get support for quitting.”
Presently, Rhode Island state officials do not have estimates for the expected increase in costs of addiction treatment tied to legalization.