Adult Use Tax Revenue Distribution

All adult-use cannabis taxes are deposited in the NYS Cannabis Revenue Fund (CRF). First, CRF will cover the costs of administering cannabis programs and implementing the MRTA, including the OCM’s operating costs, increasing Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training, and implementing incubators and workforce development for social and economic equity applicants. After upfront costs, the remaining tax revenue is distributed into three (3) separate funds:

• 40% to State Lottery Fund for education purposes. The revenue from the fund must be additional spending on education and not supplant existing revenue sources.

• 40% to Community Grants Reinvestment Fund: MRTA dedicates 40% of the adult-use cannabis tax revenue to the NYS Community Reinvestment Grant Fund (NYS CRGF)—qualified community-based nonprofit organizations and local governments in communities disproportionally impacted by cannabis prohibition would be eligible to apply for funding to support several different community revitalization efforts, including, but not limited to:

• Job placement and skills services

• Adult education

• Mental health treatment

• Substance use disorder treatment

• Housing

• Financial literacy

• Community banking

• Nutrition services

• Services to address adverse childhood experiences

• Afterschool and childcare services, system navigation services

• Legal services to address barriers to reentry

• Linkages to medical care, women’s health services and other community-based supportive services

• To further support the social and economic equity program, furthering participation of equity applicants in the cannabis industry; grants will be awarded by a newly established State Cannabis Advisory Board (LINK).

The grants in this fund will be awarded by the State Cannabis Advisory Board to qualified community-based non-profit organizations and local governments to support several different community revitalization efforts. OCM will issue an annual report detailing how the revenues from the Community Grants Reinvestment Fund were spent the previous year.

• 20% to Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund: Disbursed by Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) in consultation with the Department of Health (DoH), the Office of Mental Health (OMH), OCM and State Education Department to development and implement statewide public education campaigns and provide substance use disorder treatment programs for youth and adults. Specifically,

› To develop and implement a youth-focused public health education and prevention campaign, including school-based prevention, early intervention, and health care services and programs to reduce the risk of cannabis and other substance use by school-aged children.

› To develop and implement a statewide public health campaign focused on the health effects of cannabis and legal use, including an ongoing education and prevention campaign that educates the general public, including parents, consumers and retailers, on the legal use of cannabis, the importance of preventing youth access, the importance of safe storage and preventing secondhand cannabis smoke exposure, information for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and the overconsumption of edible cannabis products.

› To provide substance use disorder treatment programs for youth and adults, with an emphasis on programs that are culturally and gender competent, trauma-informed, evidence-based and provide a continuum of care that includes screening and assessment (substance use disorder as well as mental health), early intervention, active treatment, family involvement, case management, overdose prevention, prevention of communicable diseases related to substance use, relapse management for substance use and other co-occurring behavioral health disorders, vocational services, literacy services, parenting classes, family therapy and counseling services, medication-assisted treatments, psychiatric medication and psychotherapy.

› To evaluate the programs being funded to determine their effectiveness. The Commissioner of OASAS must issue an annual report detailing how the revenues from the Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund were spent the previous year.