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Recovery providers urge larger share of adult‑use marijuana tax for treatment and prevention, warn 988 costs will absorb proposed allocation
Summary
Brian Bayless, president of the Ohio Alliance of Recovery Providers, told the House Medicaid Committee that House Bill 96’s proposed allocation of adult‑use marijuana tax revenue would leave too little funding for substance‑abuse treatment because the 988 hotline administration is expected to consume most of the proposed share.
Brian Bayless, president of the Ohio Alliance of Recovery Providers and CEO of Thrive Peer Recovery Services, told the House Medicaid Committee that House Bill 96 should increase dedicated tax receipts from adult‑use marijuana back to 25% for the substance abuse and addiction fund.
Bayless said members appreciate investments in behavioral health in the executive budget, but that Medicaid and community behavioral health providers still need more funding to recruit and retain staff and to treat rising demand. He told the committee that many residential treatment providers are operating at reduced capacity because they cannot hire sufficient staff.
Bayless also testified that Issue 2, passed by voters, originally dedicated 25% of adult‑use marijuana tax receipts to substance abuse and addiction programs. House Bill 96 proposes to increase the tax rate to 20% but dedicates only 14% of receipts to prevention, treatment and recovery — and requires those 14% to also support administration of the 988 crisis line. Bayless said fiscal estimates from the administration show 988 costs of roughly $31.7 million in FY26 and $41.3 million in FY27 and warned that those costs could consume the majority of the 14% allocation, leaving little for treatment and prevention.
Why it matters: Bayless said the state can fund both 988 and community treatment if the legislature restores the 25% dedication. He asked for an additional 5% increase in Medicaid community behavioral health funding over the biennium to help providers keep facilities staffed and expand access.
Committee response and questions: Representative Stevens asked whether marijuana tax revenue dedicated to behavioral health could be used to draw down additional federal Medicaid match; Bayless said he did not know. Representative Baker asked whether providers could provide data on how many served are on Medicaid expansion; Bayless said he did not have exact figures but would supply them.
Ending: Bayless offered to provide follow‑up data to the committee and asked lawmakers to restore and secure dedicated tax funding for behavioral health services.
