Since the state’s first dispensary opened in 2021, West Virginia’s medical cannabis program has collected roughly $34 million in taxes, licensing fees and interest. State law requires the money be used to create a medical cannabis research program, provide resources to residents with substance use disorder and fund law enforcement training.

But almost four years later, the money sits unspent. Cannabis is still an illegal drug at the federal level. Traditional banks were unwilling to hold the state’s cannabis dollars, so they’re held at a credit union under control of the state Treasurer’s Office.

“The money in the fund will remain unallocated until federal law changes,” said Treasurer’s Office spokesperson Carrie Hodousek. But other states with legal cannabis markets, including Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio, are spending their tax revenue.

In 1970, the federal government classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, a designation that finds it has no medical use and a high potential for misuse. Today, 40 states have legalized adult-use or medical cannabis use despite the federal classification. West Virginia’s 2017 Medical Cannabis Act allowed licensed physicians to issue medical cannabis cards to patients seeking alternative treatment for serious health conditions.

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