In a time when our country seems deeply and intractably divided, there are a few things we can all agree on: (1) puppies and kittens are super swell; (2) we all miss Prince something fierce; and (3) the tax on cannabis is really high. But part of the deal when we legalized the stuff is that we agreed to impose these taxes, so if that’s still upsetting to you, maybe it’s time to use some of that weed you just paid a 20 percent tax on.
But don’t go down that dab-it hole(™) of frustration just yet. Because some really good things are about to start happening with some of that tax revenue, including the chance for some to get a piece of the tax pie in order to right age-old wrongs and help level the playing field. That kind of corrective is rare these days, so listen up.
Portland’s city council just approved the dispersal of a chunk of local tax revenue collected from sales of recreational cannabis and cannabis products. Back in November 2016, we passed a ballot measure for this tax, with the idea that a portion of the revenue would be used for the following: “Support for neighborhood small businesses, especially women-owned and minority-owned businesses, including but not limited to business incubator programs, management training, and job training opportunities; and providing economic opportunity and education to communities disproportionately-impacted by cannabis prohibition.”
Following community input, an amount of $500,000 from this tax is being distributed as grant money through two separate channels.
