Politics
Iowa’s Incoming Governor Says Legalizing Marijuana Can Generate ‘Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars’ For The State
Rob Sand, the Democrat who won Iowa’s gubernatorial election last week, says he plans to move forward with a proposal to legalize marijuana in the state—arguing that it could generate “hundreds of millions of dollars” in annual revenue to fund public schools and other services.
“We should treat cannabis the way that we treat alcohol,” the incoming governor said on the latest episode of Iowa Press that aired on Iowa Public Television on Friday. “That’s, year one, a smaller figure—maybe 54 million—but after that, hundreds of millions of dollars.”
When asked how he would get his marijuana legalization plan and other priorities past the Republican-controlled legislature, Sand suggested that bipartisan and bicameral compromise and dealmaking would be key.
“Any budget the legislature passes is going to have to have my support for it to become law,” he said. “Any budget that I want to become law is going to have to be passed by the legislature, right?”
“This is part of why I think that Iowans were moving my direction in this campaign. They want us to be working together, and they just made a decision that forces us to do that,” the Democrat said. “And I think that’s a good thing. So there’s always going to be room, and there’s going to be a reality where we have to negotiate.”
“I think it’s going to be the stuff that the vast majority of Iowans can agree are good. Now, there will be plenty of people out on the far right and the far left that are disappointed by whatever we do. I think the 80, 70 percent of us that are somewhere in the middle will probably look at it and say that’s good. Those folks are, you know, given the reality—which is me working with a Republican legislature— those folks out on the edges are probably bound to be disappointed no matter what.”
A University of Iowa poll in 2023 found that 59 percent of Iowa adults support legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational use.
Sand consistently discussed his support for legalizing cannabis on the campaign trail during the election.
“If we tax cannabis the way we tax alcohol and treat it the way we treat alcohol, that would be a positive move for the state’s budget,” he said during during a debate last month. “I also think it would be a positive move for law enforcement—taking some of the burden off of their backs. Every time I talk to police officers, they’d rather deal with someone who was using cannabis than someone who was drunk.”
“And look, these are both dangerous drugs,” the Democratic candidate said. “The bottom line is, we don’t want to be throwing people in prison just for using them.”
Later in the debate, Sand was asked how he would pay for a proposed 5 percent increase in supplemental state aid to schools in his first year in office.
He replied that part of the solution is to legalize marijuana. “If we legalize cannabis and treated like alcohol, the first year we’re probably seeing $50 million. But in years after that it will be over $100 million.”
The cannabis plan on Sand’s campaign website says legalization will also create jobs and support farmers.
It additionally pledges to reverse restrictions on “hemp and THC beverage products while ensuring oversight and regulation over those products by hemp producers selling their products through cannabis retailers.”
Sand said in September that legalizing marijuana is a “no-brainer” move to help forestall a “fiscal time bomb” in Iowa that could otherwise lead to cuts in funding for education and public safety in the state.
“I think we should treat it the way we treat alcohol. That seems like a no-brainer to me, right?” the Democrat, who is currently the state auditor, said at a town hall event.
“Alcohol is a dangerous drug. You shouldn’t abuse it. Also, we’re not going to throw you in prison for having a beer,” Sand said. “Why is it any different for marijuana? It is a dangerous drug. You shouldn’t abuse it. We shouldn’t be throwing people in prison just for using it.”
Sand also spoke about his support for legalizing marijuana at an earlier event in August, saying that he thinks cannabis should be legalized and treated like alcohol, even if he thinks it’s “dangerous.”
“Marijuana is a dangerous drug,” he said at the time. “You shouldn’t abuse it, but we also shouldn’t throw people in prison just for using it. We should treat it the way we treat alcohol. Alcohol is a dangerous drug. You shouldn’t abuse it, but we don’t throw you in prison just for having a beer when you get home.”
The then-candidate said that Iowa is “spending perfectly good tax dollars to lock people up” for marijuana while people who want to use it are driving across the border to purchase it in other states.
“They’re spending their money in Illinois, or they’re spending it in Missouri. And then they’re driving back without their money,” Sand said. “The money stays there, and the tax dollars stay there.”
Sand also recently praised President Donald Trump’s administration for taking steps to federally reschedule cannabis.
“I’m someone who has always been willing to call the good ‘good,'” he said. “I was really glad to see the Trump administration move towards making marijuana more accessible for medical purposes. I’m a believer that it should be treated the way we treat alcohol. And so when they did it, I said, ‘Good for them.'”
Josh Turek, the Democratic candidate who won a U.S. Senate race in Iowa, said in September that cannabis’s longtime restrictive Schedule I status is “ridiculous.” Marijuana “should be legalized and regulated, and let’s tax it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iowa regulators are circulating proposed rules changes to remove the residency requirement for patients in the state’s medical cannabis program while also ensuring that military veterans qualify for reduced registration fees.
The residency-focused part of the regulatory change from the state Department of Health and Human Services is meant to comply with provisions of a bill that outgoing Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed into law in June.
In addition to allowing out-of-state residents to register in the medical cannabis program if they have a certification from an Iowa healthcare provider legislation, that legislation also doubles the number of medical cannabis dispensaries that are allowed to operate in the state.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
The Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board, which oversees the state’s medical marijuana program, recommended in a 2023 report that the state allow more licenses “in an effort to provide Iowans with greater geographical access to medical cannabis products.”
Under the program, patients with certain conditions can obtain cannabis products containing no more than at 4.5 grams of THC every 90 days. Flower and smoking are not allowed. Healthcare practitioners can allow greater amounts of THC for patients who are terminally ill or who have experience with the program and for whom the provider believes 4.5 grams is not enough.
Separately this session, Iowa lawmakers considered a bill to create a state-regulated therapeutic psilocybin program for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Last year, the governor vetoed earlier legislation that would have allowed doctors in the state to immediately prescribe a synthetic form of psilocybin in the event of federal approval of the psychedelic substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), arguing that it “surrenders state authority to make an informed determination about classification to federal officials.”
