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State legislators want pot sales to fund early learning

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Though Washington state’s government does not know if federal authorities will crack down on the state’s new law legalizing marijuana, legislators are already counting on the cash from sales.

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would put some of the money from marijuana sales toward schools.
The proposed bill would take money from recreational marijuana sales and use it for early learning education for children from birth to age 5.
Supporters said they can’t think of a better use for the money than using it for education during a child’s most important years of learning.
Opponents of the bill said the state doesn’t yet know how the marijuana system will work and is still working out the kinks to license production and sales.
There’s also the looming question of what federal authorities plan to do about the state’s new law, because marijuana use is illegal under federal law.
It is also unknown how much money would be generated from marijuana sales, and some lawmakers said they would prefer to roll the revenue into the general budget, and some of the money would still benefit early learning.

KIRO

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