Federal marijuana farm, University of Mississippi [Photo/cnn.com]
In the 2017/18 budget, the national treasury allocated 15% to healthcare. The total budget was estimated at Kshs. 2.627 Trillion. Healthcare will be allocated approximately Kshs. 400 billion.
In addition to that, the Kenyan Government has dedicated over $200 Billion for a ten year hospital development plan to enable for the expansion of healthcare services. $200 billion is approximately Kshs. 20 trillion using the current exchange rates.
As you can see, these are not small figures and our population is growing. We are also having more people suffering due to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
The question is, how do you fund our healthcare plan without increasing taxes via KRA or outside borrowing?
The answer is simple. Borrow a leaf from the numerous American states that have legalized the use, growing and sale of cannabis within some regulated limits. A total of 12 states have decriminalized the drug and allowed for its recreational and medicinal use.
Of particular importance is the state of Colorado. The state recorded approximately $1 billion in marijuana/cannabis sales in 2016. That is approximately Kshs. 103 billion. Out of this amount, the tax collected from such sales was $150 million (Kshs. 15 Billion).
The state of Colorado has a population of approximately 5.61 million. These are the residents contributing to KShs. 15 billion in taxes that is being purposely used to revamp the education system in the state. To be frank, weed is financing education!
Going by these figures, one is left to wonder what our population of 48 million Kenyans can remit back as taxes should cannabis be legalized. Using Colorado as a reference, our 48 million would remit Kshs. 128 Billion back to the national treasury in the form of taxes per year. That is 32% of the current budget allocation to Healthcare.
I know, the figures sound insane, but think about it. Weed can help pay for healthcare.
In addition to the monetary benefits of legalizing marijuana/cannabis, studies have shown that such a move results in the reduction of abuse of the drug. This is because the urge and thrill to break the law diminish with the drug being decriminalized. As a result, the user is less motivated to smoke.