SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Missouri collected $137 million in state sales tax revenue from legal marijuana sales in 2025, but a state audit found millions of dollars intended for veterans, drug treatment programs, and public defenders are sitting unused in the state treasury.
According to the Missouri State Auditor’s report, approximately $89 million in marijuana tax revenues are being held in a fund not accessible to the programs designated to receive them under Article 14 of the state constitution. The amount on hold has grown since the audit was issued.
The ROCC in Joplin, a community recovery center, receives $300,000 annually from marijuana sales tax revenue through a state contract.
“We are a community center that welcomes anybody looking for help with their recovery journey,” said Paula Donaldson of ROCC in Joplin.
The center offers 12-step meetings, cooking classes, and art therapy. Donaldson said the state funding is essential to operations.
“We would not be here if it weren’t for that initiative,” Donaldson said.
State records show the Missouri Public Defender System received about $12 million less than the Missouri Veterans Commission and the Department of Health and Senior Services for substance abuse programs.
Dan Viets, who co-authored the law legalizing marijuana in Missouri, said the legislature has failed to appropriate the money.
“The legislature has simply failed to appropriate it, and that makes no sense at all. That money should be going to addiction treatment, public defenders, and veterans,” Viets said.
Viets said litigation is possible if the legislature does not act during the current session.
“Certainly not until after this session is over. We hope that the legislature will come to its senses and perhaps be embarrassed into doing what they’re bound and directed to do by our state constitution,” Viets said. “But if this session ends and they’re not doing that, then litigation is definitely a possibility.”
A spokesperson for the Missouri House said in an email that the funds go through the normal budget process, which weighs program needs, readiness to deploy funding, and overall fiscal priorities. The budget must be passed by the constitutional deadline of Friday, May 8.
The spokesperson also said the Missouri Veterans Commission has been provided full spending authority and has chosen to retain and build a fund balance for future projects rather than fully expend appropriated funds.
The Missouri Veterans Commission deferred our question to the Department of Health and Senior Services. Meantime, the State Public Defender’s Office and the Governor’s Office did not respond to interview requests.
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