According to the Kansas Division of Budget, the state is expecting to face a $653 million shortfall in fiscal year 2021, this includes a projected $1.3 billion loss in tax revenue. Proponents of legalizing marijuana in the state say marijuana sales tax revenue could help. “With a budget that’s just absolutely destroyed in the state of Kansas, it would be something that would very much help with multiple different things,” said J. Andrew Ericson Sr., President of the Kansas Cannabis Business Association. Ericson points to Oklahoma as a state that the KCBA is looking to emulate with medical marijuana legislation. According to the Oklahoma state government website, the state brought in more than $39 million in medical marijuana revenue so far in June 2020. Colorado, which has legal medicinal and recreational marijuana, brought in more than $300 million in revenue in 2019. The KCBA estimates that Kansas could bring in approximately $200 million in revenue over 5 years.
(Read more: KSN-TV)