As the Texas Legislature prepares to meet in January, they will be greeted by a budget from the State Comptroller’s office that will detail the magnitude of our state’s deficit. It will explain to us, in more definite terms, that we are a little over $25 billion in debt. With such a drastic shortfall, we find that the options for a resolution are very limited and even more disheartening.
We could cut spending from K12 and higher education. We could increase revenue by dipping into our $10 billion “Rainy Day Fund”. We could legalize gambling or institute a state income tax. Several suggestions are being tossed around, but many have already made up their minds as to what ought to be first on the chopping block (texastribune.org)
Texas Republicans are collectively taking aim at programs of the Health and Human Services Department, particularly Medicaid. They make the apathetic assertion that withdrawing from Medicaid, a federally and state-funded health care program for the needy, is the only viable option for solving our budget crisis (NYTimes).
Texas’ biennial Medicaid budget is about $16 billion, which is about half of our estimated deficit. I can understand how this would be a tempting solution to our money problem (sunshinereview.org). However, rather than ditching the poor and taking our financial woes out on the HHSC, maybe we can actually aid our healthcare system by legalizing medicinal marijuana, thereby lessening the frequency and urgency of hospital visits for the chronically ill, while we, at the same time, take advantage of the taxable revenue it would generate. If medical marijuana were to be legalized, local governments would maintain the authority to determine the number of “wellness centers” operating within each county which would allow for strict regulation of operations.
A (non-university) organization for the legalization of medical cannabis that calls itself MedCan University estimates that such a program would create 200,000 jobs in Texas. They also claim that “by placing a 10 percent sales tax on medical marijuana, the herb would be expected to generate $1.9 billion in revenue in the first biennial cycle” (MedCan University) It may not seem like much in comparison to our overall deficit, but I predict that that amount would exponentially increase as the negative stigma that surrounds marijuana-use gradually fades away, and medicinal pot becomes an option for those chronic pain sufferers who are, presently, doped up on addictive, pain-killing pharmaceuticals that grow weaker with each use.
Non-medical marijuana production, sales, and use ought to be legalized as well, but that is far less likely to happen in such a conservative state. However, I believe that the revenue from the sale of recreational marijuana would close, if not substantially shrink, the budget gap over just a handful of biennial legislative sessions. It would take time and patience, but I think it would be worth the wait.
If we move to legalize medicinal marijuana only, one might argue that the program would entice individuals to start growing and selling the plant out of their own homes. I would argue that the rate of these types of crimes would not waver because laws governing recreational marijuana use would remain as they stand; the sentences for such crimes would be as severe as ever. Selling homegrown marijuana would remain a black market operation and the prospect of punishment would continue to deter the smarter criminals.
I concede that taxing medicinal marijuana alone would not close the budget gap. However, if it were coupled with other measures that are less detrimental and/or more progressive for our society, such as legalized gambling and same-sex marriage, they would, together, put a noticeable dent in the deficit that I think would surpass everyone’s expectations. All of these measures would boost the economy, create jobs, and generate substantial tax revenue.
While withdrawing from Medicaid would close the gap in one or two biennial sessions, I contend that legalizing recreational marijuana would attain the same result, although it may take a bit longer. Cost-shifting and instituting a state income tax, however unlikely, would speed up the entire process. The bottom line is that we ought to exhaust all means to avoid terminating Medicaid because refusing medical service to the needy is inhumane.
Katie's solution to the budget shortfall is very amusing and interesting. Legalizing medical marijuana can possibly contribute to closing the gap. I also agree that dropping out of the Medicaid program should be a last resort. The impoverished should not have to suffer for mistakes of the rich and powerful. Texas would have to take up the responsibility of caring for the people who are on Medicaid. And with the State thinking about such dramatic cuts, I cannot even think of how we would create a new state agency to fill the vacuum formed if we opted out of Medicaid.
ReplyDeleteThe idea has been purposed and passed in California and they even took the next step with proposition 19 and tried to legalize it for recreational use however, prop 19 failed. But for medicinal use, that could be possible. The image of marijuana needs to change before it can be a more feasible idea. Morphine and Oxycodone come from the same roots as opium and heroin. But you do not see the raw ingredients all you see is a pill or a slow IV drip not some herb growing in a Chinese farm. There is such a difference between medication and "drugs".
I did not know that there were research groups like MedCan University working on the issue. There would have to be substantial social research as well. Some people think that if it's legalized that stoned drivers would storm the streets and cause all kinds of havoc, I don't recall ever hearing about a car accident where pot was involved. There are a lot of other factors that need to be explored but I have no doubt that legalizing marijuana and taxing it could be a huge boon to the State's revenue.