House 5074

WEST virginia legislature

2026 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 5074

By Delegates Worrell, Clark, Hite, and Ellington

[Originating in the Committee on Finance, February 26, 2026]

A BILL to amend and reenact §16A-9-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, relating to changing the allocation of proceeds in the Medical Cannabis Program Fund.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

article 9.  tax on medical cannabis.

§16A-9-2.  Medical Cannabis Program Fund.

(a) Fund established. — The Medical Cannabis Program Fund is established as a special fund in the State Treasury. Money in the fund is appropriated shall be allocated as set forth in subsection (c) of this section. Any amount unspent at the end of a fiscal year shall be appropriated allocated to the bureau for its operations.

(b) Source of funds. — Fees and taxes payable under this act shall be deposited into the fund. The money deposited into the fund may only be used for the purposes set forth in this section. Any interest accrued shall be deposited into the fund.

(c) Use of proceeds. —  

(1) On June 30, 2026, $3 million from the balance of moneys in the fund shall be allocated to the Supreme Court of Appeals for a pilot project for the establishment of a Child Protection Commission and the remaining balance in the fund shall revert to general revenue for appropriation;

(2) Beginning  of July 1, 2026, the money in the fund is allocated in accordance with the following percentages, except as otherwise provided in this subdivision:

(1)(A) Fifty-five Fifteen  percent of the revenue in the fund shall be allocated to the bureau Office of Medical Cannabis for administrative purposes.

(B) Fifteen percent shall be allocated to the Department of Agriculture for testing of medical cannabis, which shall occur at the West Virginia State University lab when operational.

(2) (C) The remaining forty-five percent of the revenue in the fund shall be allocated as follows: (A) Fifty Twenty percent shall be allocated to the Fight Substance Abuse Fund created by §60A-9-8 of the this code;

(D) Ten percent shall be allocated to Marshall University for cannabis research;

(E) Ten percent shall be allocated to West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute for substance use disorder research; and

(F) Ten percent shall be allocated to the Supreme Court of Appeals for the purposes of a Child Protection Commission.

(B) (G) Forty Ten percent shall be allocated to the Division of Justice and Community Services, for grants to local law enforcement agencies for training, drug diversion, and other programs focused on crime and addiction, pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of article nine-a, chapter fifteen of this code.

(C) (H) Ten percent shall be allocated to the fund created in section four, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty, to be used for law enforcement professional training and professional development programs.