Legalizing Medical Marijuana Could Free Up Federal Medicaid Dollars, American Samoa Official Says

Legalizing Medical Marijuana Could Free Up Federal Medicaid Dollars, American Samoa Official Says
Legalizing Medical Marijuana Could Free Up Federal Medicaid Dollars, American Samoa Official Says

Officials in American Samoa are considering legalizing medical marijuana to generate funds for a government health care program in the U.S. territory.

The proposal was originally floated by the jurisdiction’s Medicaid director, Sandra King Young, who said enacting the policy change could help fill a revenue gap that’s preventing the territory from accessing federal dollars for health care. American Samoa needs to raise about $30 million on its own to get $84 million in Medicaid funding from the federal government.

The “idea was legalizing medicinal marijuana and then using 100 percent of those taxes for medical, but I know that can be a controversial issue and, again, that is a decision for the legislature,” she said at a recent House Health Committee hearing, according to Samoa News. “Otherwise I don’t really know where else we can create new money.”
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