“Legalization created opportunity. This ordinance ensures that this opportunity is shared, shared fairly, shared transparently and shared with the residents who made it possible.”
By Nick Castele, Signal Cleveland
This story was originally published by Signal Cleveland. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalCleveland.org/subscribe.
Cleveland City Council members should be able to spend part of the city’s marijuana tax money directly on neighborhood projects, Ward 5’s Richard Starr said on Monday.
Starr introduced legislation this week to send half of Cleveland’s marijuana revenue to council members’ discretionary spending accounts, known as neighborhood equity funds. Members have used their discretionary money to upgrade city parks, buy police fitness equipment and purchase food and grocery store gift cards for residents.
The Cleveland voters who helped to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 ought to see that money come back to their communities, Starr argued at this week’s council meeting.
“The question before us today is simple. Who benefits?” he said. “This ordinance answers that question clearly: the people, the neighborhoods, every ward in the city.”
Cleveland’s marijuana tax collections are relatively modest and go to the city’s General Fund, which pays for basic city services. Since the state first began collecting the 10 percent tax
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