Trailing or Leading: Funding answer hiding in the weeds

I'll take the pot money, the good old cigarette tax. They increased the tax by $2 per pack. Apparently, they didn't want to tax vaudeville shows. Or scurvy. Or any other old pastime.

In this recently completed session of the Indiana General Assembly, lawmakers faced a difficult budget task. After three quarters of positive revenue projections, the final forecast before the final budget negotiations showed a $2 billion shortfall. So, lawmakers started casting around for hoped-for programs and expenditures onboard, in hopes of staying afloat.

Agencies were forced to cut back their budgets. And the money we wanted for trails was set at $0.

To find new revenue, lawmakers searched the catacombs and dusted off the good old cigarette tax. They increased the tax by $2 per pack. Apparently, they didn't want to tax vaudeville shows. Or scurvy. Or any other old pastime.

Meanwhile, our neighboring states have been collecting money from cannabis sales. So far, Illinois has collected $457,284,195 and Michigan has collected $331,000,000, according to The Motley Fool. Sales figures will be similar.

The Motley Fool estimates Indiana would collect $172,219,718 from cannabis sales taxes. Gosh. We were only asking for $30 million for trails this year.

While lawmakers are digging up last century's tax code to find possible revenue, I can't believe they haven't seriously considered the potential revenue from marijuana taxes. Actually, I believe they have. No organization I work with or for is endorsing legalized marijuana.

Personally, I had two friends (one is dead now) who struggled mightily with marijuana addiction. At the same time, we all know people who have suffered from drinking, smoking and gambling. There are real costs to vices. Yet, those vices are all taxed, and Indiana depends on their revenue.

Marijuana is a potential income source, completely voluntary, that generates a lot of revenue at a time when lawmakers are desperate for money. The hot money is currently going from Indiana to neighboring states. What are the chances Indiana lawmakers will legalize and tax this voluntary vice in the next session or two? Maybe they will start with medical marijuana, but it is coming soon. We could take bets on this, and Indiana would be happy to collect gambling taxes.

When they have a cannabis tax, I want trails and nature to be at the front of the line for the revenue. Our parks have been cut drastically by this current budget shortfall (including my part-time naturalist job). Isn't there some kind of logical connection between nature and marijuana? Marijuana is a plant, after all. A recreational plant could help fund natural activities.

Communities have been demanding more trails, even before the current budget crisis. As this column has shared previously, only one-third of the Next Level Trails (NLT) applications were funded. That means there is a lot of unmet need in Hoosier communities. Imagine how many trails people would be using now if the NLT program had enough money for all the requests.

Trails in Indiana benefit the health, recreation and economic development in our local communities. If legislators are going to legalize marijuana, don't let this opportunity to fund trails go up in smoke, in somebody else's state.

Kyle Hannon is the Project Manager for the MyPath Trail System. He has served in many community development and trail connection roles throughout the state. On many weekends, he serves as an Interpretive Specialist at McCormick's Creek State Park.