Kansas City officials in Missouri have approved the use of proceeds from a municipal tax of 3 percent on marijuana for funding a violence-prevention program.
The City Council approved on Thursday a proposal that $458,000 of the proceeds from the local marijuana tax approved by voters in April would be used to fund the city’s Aim4Peace program, which works closely with local communities, including survivors of violent crimes.
After the tax comes into effect, the city expects to make approximately $3 million per year in legal sales.
Some cannabis users told the local CBS affiliate KCTV they were happy with their use of funds.
“That’s awesome. Adriane Cristoff said, “I like that.” “Something that helps the people who don’t have a voice or anyone to speak up for them,” said Adriane Cristoff.
James Smith, a station employee, said: “It’s good because it keeps the region clean and makes it a better place for people to live.”
Mayor Quinton Lucas, a Democrat, praised the initiative, writing in a Facebook post: “Whether you voted or consumed responsibly, either, neither, or both, thank you for your support of violence prevention in Kansas City!”
He added the hashtag #PotForPeace.
Thank you for your support of violence prevention in Kansas City, whether you voted or consumed responsibly. #PotForPeace https://t.co/UF4f1GHSai
Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC 15 September 2023
Rashid Junaid is a manager of violence prevention at Aim4Peace. He told KCTV one of Aim4Peace’s newly-added teams will be focused on the Hispanic Community.
Missouri legalized marijuana through a voter-approved initiative by November 2022. The state’s first legal stores opened earlier this year. has already sold over $350 million worth of products as of May.
Kansas City’s leaders had removed all local criminal sanctions for marijuana possession by July 2020 and, in 2021 passed a measure that prohibited pre-employment cannabis testing for most city employees.
There have been some bumps along the way in the legal cannabis industry of Missouri. Last month, state marijuana regulators implemented new testing rules in order to combat “laboratory shopping“, whereby cannabis producers try to get higher THC potency ratings from testing laboratories than their actual products contain.
Regulators also have recalled 62,000 marijuana product from Delta Extraction that contained THC distillate. The distillate was allegedly made primarily from hemp-derived cannabinoids that were grown outside of the state. Last month , a judge denied an attempt to stop the recall.
A state official in July pledged to push a survey on the demographics of cannabis business owners, amid criticism that Blacks are being left out of this burgeoning industry.
Last month, a statewide change permitted Missouri foster parents grow and keep marijuana in their homes. Smoking and vaping is still not allowed indoors.
In June, the Kansas City Royals became the second Major League Baseball team to partner with a CBD-based company. They joined forces with Pure Spectrum CBD. The Chicago Cubs had partnered with a CBD beverage months earlier.
MDMA Therapy for PTSD is ‘On Track” to be FDA-approved next year
The article Kansas City Council Earmarks $458,00 in Marijuana tax revenue to fund local violence prevention first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
