The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has selected Vitalyst Health Foundation and the Technical Assistance Partnership of Arizona (TAPAZ) as the fiscal agent to manage the Marijuana Justice Reinvestment grant for the next five years.

When Arizona voters approved Proposition 207 in 2020, it legalized recreational cannabis use for adults aged 21 and over and introduced an excise tax on marijuana. A portion of the tax revenue is allocated to the Justice Reinvestment Fund, which aims to address substance use and mental health issues that often contribute to incarceration.

The Justice Reinvestment Fund supports county health departments, community college districts, municipal fire departments, and other public service entities. In addition, ADHS receives a percentage for the distribution of grants to qualified nonprofit organizations that provide justice reinvestment programs. ADHS has selected Vitalyst/TAPAZ to oversee the fund’s grant distribution, awarding approximately $10 million in grants across four priority areas:

1. Public and behavioral health initiatives for substance use prevention, treatment, and early intervention services.
2. Restorative justice, jail diversion, workforce development, and mentoring services for economically disadvantaged individuals in communities disproportionately affected by higher arrest and incarceration rates.
3. Addressing the root causes of crime, reducing drug-related arrests, and lowering the prison population.
4. Developing technology and programs to restore civil rights and expunging criminal records.

 

More details about the grant process will be available soon on the Vitalyst Health Foundation website, www.vitalysthealth.org, and the TAPAZ website, www.tapaz.org.