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As 'green wave' spreads, marijuana funds create new dilemmas for education leaders
Eleven states and D.C. permit recreational use, and more are expected to enact legalization laws in 2020.
Linda Jacobson
Oct. 17, 2019
A district leader’s visit to the workplace of a potential business
partner would usually be considered a wise move in the effort to
attract future financial support for education initiatives — but not
when the business owner grows cannabis for a living.
Diana Rigby, superintendent of the Carpinteria Unified School District
in California, drew criticism from members of the community last month
when she and four principals in the district were photographed wearing
hard hats in a greenhouse full of cannabis plants.
Glass House Farms — where the photo was taken — is part of the Cannabis
Association for Responsible Producers, which offered to pay for a
counselor from the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in Santa
Barbara to work in the district's middle school. While some in the
community argued accepting the donation was inappropriate, Graham
Farrar, the company's CEO, said the gesture makes perfect sense in a
state that has legalized adult recreational marijuana use. He called it
a "good example of community supporting community."
Ultimately, the board voted 4-1 to accept the donation, but the
controversy is an example of how the clash between shifting regulations
and longstanding beliefs is affecting many district leaders.
“Marijuana is a drug, and basic common sense tells me that drugs and
children are a bad mix,” Rogelio Delgado, the Carpinteria board member
who voted against accepting the donation, wrote in a letter to the
editor. “Accepting these donations shows disturbing and unethical
behavior on the part of district leadership.”
A new source of revenue
In a so-called "green wave," 11 states and the District of Columbia
have legalized recreational use, and more states — including Arizona,
Florida, New Mexico and those in the Northeast — are poised to move
that way, either through a ballot or legislative initiative.
Based on how other states have directed tax revenue from the cannabis
industry, education or other programs serving children and youth are
likely to be considered as potential recipients of those funds.
“Like most states, we will project a large new source of general fund
revenue that the governor and legislators can allocate as they see
fit,” says Pat Davis, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, city councilor who
chairs a statewide working group on legalization. “We did hear from
various advocates, including those in education and higher ed,
alongside behavioral health and economic development groups, interested
in lobbying the legislature for those purposes.”
He added that past polling results in the state showed 69% of residents
would support legalization if it included funding for purposes such as
education. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has made legalization
a priority of her administration.
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