Nearly $85 million in marijuana tax revenue set for dispersion

Salem, Ore. – The first financial distributions collected from Oregon’s marijuana tax will soon head to the State School Fund; the Mental Health, Alcoholism, and Drug Services Account; the Oregon State Police (OSP); the Oregon Health Authority (OHA); and Oregon’s cities and counties.

According to the Oregon Department of Revenue, the distributions–totaling nearly $85 million–will be completed by October 11.

The state collected $108.6 million in state and local marijuana taxes between January 4, 2016 and August 21, 2017. $94.55 million was eligible for distribution. $9.56 million went to repaying the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s costs related to marijuana and covering costs for the Department of Revenue. The remaining $85 million will be distributed based on formulas set forth in Oregon law.

The distributions are broken down below:

State School Fund–40 percent = $34 million.
Mental Health, Alcoholism, and Drug Services Account–20 percent = $17 million.
OSP–15 percent = $12.75 million.
OHA–5 percent = $4.25 million.
Cities and counties–10 percent each = $17 million.

The Department of Revenue said the portions counties and cities receive is a bit more complicated. “Of the overall distribution, Oregon’s cities and counties will receive a total of $17 million (10 percent to cities and 10 percent to counties). The portions of the pre-July 2017 revenue due to individual cities and counties were based on that city or county’s population.

“The distribution formula that applies to tax revenues collected starting July 1, 2017 takes factors other than just population into consideration. For cities, only municipalities allowing all license types are eligible for a portion of the 10 percent. For eligible cities, their share will be based on population (75 percent) and the sum of grower, wholesaler, processor, and retailer licenses (25 percent).”

The Department of Revenue did not provide a county-specific breakdown of distributions with their announcement.