Portland Using Cannabis Tax Money to Fund Safe Driving Campaign
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]L[/dropcap]egal states seem to be in a race to outdo each other with the implementation of positive and proactive programs that are funded by cannabis tax money. The latest is a program started in Portland, Oregon to help keep the roads safer.
According to a press release from the Portland Bureau of Transportation,(PBOT) this new program is a part of the city’s Vision Zero effort to end fatalities and injuries from driving. Struck, the campaign being funded in part by cannabis, is an attention-grabbing video that speaks to both the victim of a fatal car accident and the driver who just killed a stranger. The purpose is to make drivers stop and think, and get them to slow down.
“If we are going to reduce fatalities, we need to change how people think when they get behind the wheel,” said City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees PBOT, according to the press release. “It used to be socially acceptable to drive without a seat belt or drive when people were not quite sober. But with new laws and education campaigns, we changed people’s behavior. We need to do the same thing with speeding.”
Good News Network reports that this is the biggest program ever undertaken in the city to help improve driving conditions, and that the program will also pay for renovations on streets that have the highest number of accidents and collisions.
It’s not surprising that the city of Portland has the funds for something like this, as the city alone purchased more cannabis than the rest of the entire state, combined. So far, Portland is doing a lot of good with the money they are making. They are using another portion of their cannabis taxes to help expunge prior convictions and their dispensary workers are unionized. This is one more positive change that Portland’s cannabis industry is making to its city.
