Portland has a new plan to put all the tax revenue they are getting from cannabis to good use.
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting (http://www.opb.org/news/series/election-2016/portland-marijuana-tax-expunge-conviction/), the state tax on cannabis will drop to 17 percent in 2017. Each individual city will then be able to add their own tax of up to three percent if they choose to, and use the money as they see fit.
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz has an excellent plan put in place of what to do with the extra money the city will be receiving. She wants to use the money to help the local community, namely, to give back to drug treatment programs and to help expunge prior cannabis convictions.
“For instance, helping with expunging people’s records who were convicted of cannabis-related crimes that wouldn’t be a crime now,” she told OBP as an example of what she plans to do with the funds from the tax revenue.
If Portland does implement the three percent sales tax, Fritz estimates that the city will have $3 million in revenue to play with. With this revenue, she proposes to lobby for those who’ve been disadvantaged by prohibition, such as those who have been convicted of cannabis-related, crimes, and those who live in lower-income neighborhoods that were negatively affected by the black market.
In addition to being given to drug treatment programs and to expunge prior convictions, money will be given to public programs that reduce drug abuse, such as D.U.I.s, to programs like the fire department, and to management training and other funding for small, neighborhood businesses.
If this goes through, many local people will be able to get access to drug treatment, and small businesses will be able to get off the ground. This initiative would do wonders for the city in general, and would make a wonderful example for other cities following suit with legalization.
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