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Portland mayor wants pot taxes to go to PD

The mayor wants nearly $2.4M in pot taxes to be spent on the bureau’s Service Coordination Team and DUI training

By Police1 Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler wants nearly $3 million made in pot taxes to go toward the police department.

According to The Portland Mercury, the city approved a 3 percent local sales tax on recreational marijuana in November. In combination with the state’s 17 percent markup, a 20 percent tax is added on to weed bought within the city.

The city said the money had to go to one of three places: drug and alcohol treatment programs, public safety efforts that reduce the negative impacts of drugs and alcohol (i.e. police training, paramedics), or support for “neighborhood small businesses,” with a focus on minority- and women-owned businesses.

Wheeler, who is also police commissioner, pushed to have the money go toward the Portland Police Bureau, the Portland Mercury reported.

The proposed budget includes almost $2.4 million in pot taxes to fund the police department’s Service Coordination Team, which does work with addicts, and DUI training. Even if the budget undergoes changes, more than 80 percent of the pot tax will still go toward police.

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