Agenda Text
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Requesting the establishment of a restitution program for current and former residents who have been harmed by the war on drugs.
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Official Text
WHEREAS: In addition to and separate from reparations for slavery, Somerville also needs to grapple with its historic and ongoing complicit role in the racist war on drugs that has traumatized thousands of Black and Brown residents, and cheated many of their freedom, education, economic prospects, and in some cases their very lives, necessitating both an apology for the harms done and an effort to offer restitution; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED: That the Mayor's office is hereby requested to direct the appropriate City staff to establish a restitution program that would take a to-be-determined percentage of revenue from local cannabis sales and distribute these monies to current and former Somerville residents who have been harmed by the war on drugs, with a targeted launch date of July 2022; AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED: That the Mayor's office is hereby requested to report back to the City Council on any progress made toward this endeavor by October 4, 2021.