Weed's not legal in Oregon - yet - but that hasn't slowed Portland mayor "Streetcar" Charlie; he's got a 20-member committee looking into establishing a city sales tax on the stuff.
Hales’ committee could bring a tax to the City Council by September.
Portland officials got the idea to sneak a municipal weed tax under the wire from Ashland—the Southern Oregon town best known for its annual Shakespeare festival.
Ashland city councilors voted unanimously this month to authorize a tax of up to 10 percent on recreational weed, and up to 5 percent on medical pot. If Ashland finalizes that vote next week, it will become the first city in Oregon with a recreational marijuana tax.
It'll also be the first with a tax on "medical" marijuana. The idea is that since the tax was passed prior to the November legalization measure (which bans taxes by any entity other than the state, and limits the state to collecting $35 per ounce on flowers and $10 per ounce on leaves), the city taxes should be "grandfathered" in.
However questionable that premise may be, Streetcar caught a whiff of free money, and quietly jumped all over it. Apparently, the potential increase due to revenue from boosted fast-food sales at local burger joints and from truckloads of Cheetos at local groceries is insufficient.
