As the administrator of state public health programs, “I’m going to tell you there’s always need for resources,” Clabaugh said. However, raising the tax is not his call, but a question for Forbes and other policymakers, he said.

Among the areas where resources are needed are funding the state’s fledgling medical cannabis program and reducing opioid and substance abuse problems, Clabaugh and Forbes said.

The medical cannabis program that is supposed to make the drug available to Iowans by Dec. 1, 2018, may need an appropriation of $500,000 to $1 million, Forbes said.

Under an expanded medical cannabis law, Iowans diagnosed with cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, seizures, Crohn’s disease, ALS, AIDS, HIV or most terminal illnesses now may possess approved marijuana products.

“We want to avoid pricing ourselves out of the market by overburdening companies that are going to get into this business with fees,” said Forbes, a pharmacist who was involved on the legislative debate earlier this year. “When we do that, they’re going to have to pass those costs back on to consumers who are going to purchases medical cannabis.”