The Arizona Department of Health Services has yet to enact needed changes to how it manages the state’s medical marijuana fund that state auditors recommended three years ago, the auditors said in a report released last week.
The Arizona auditor general last week issued an update to its 2019 audit of ADHS’ management of the medical marijuana fund, and found ADHS has been slow to enact changes that would address the misallocation of funds that were used to pay some salaries in the department.
While ADHS has followed most of the recommendations laid out in 2019 — such as addressing timely revocation of medical marijuana certifications for patients who violated the 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA); performing medical marijuana facility inspections, and addressing complaints and noncompliance issues — the department has yet to adequately audit its fee structure and address funding allocations for specific uses outlined in cannabis legislation.
The audit found that, under the leadership of former Director Cara Christ, ADHS had not developed sufficient written policies and procedures that could “help determine whether an expenditure is allowable and whether it should be allocated to the fund,” and ensure employees documented time spent on tasks related to its management.
“The Department paid some employee salaries from the Fund even though they worked on non-Program responsibilities during at least one of the pay periods we reviewed,” the…
