A request to buy 10 protective vests for the Wilmington Police Department’s SWAT and Canine units with drug-tax revenues will go before Wilmington City Council on Wednesday.
Information from the city explained the units’ current vests are more than five years old and need replacement for safety reasons. Drug tax funds worth $22,355 are slated to cover the new materials, which officials viewed at a recent N.C. Tactical Officers Association seminar and deemed the department’s best choice.
The model vest eyed is the durable and size-adjustable Protech FAV MKII, which runs $1,795 apiece.
“The City of Wilmington has received N.C. Drug Tax funding as a result of drug investigations conducted by the Police Department,” the request for the vests explained. “These funds are designated for law enforcement purposes.”
The N.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) collects taxes on illegal drugs like marijuana and cocaine and on illicit spiritous liquor like moonshine.
“The tax is due by any individual who possesses an unauthorized substance upon which the tax has not been paid, as evidenced by a stamp,” the state’s guidelines say.
The tax rates vary based on the drug type and volume. The tax on a gram of cocaine, for instance, is $50. A gram of marijuana is supposed to fetch the state $3.50.
DOR does not notify law enforcement agencies when it collects drug taxes from someone. Generally, “information obtained pursuant to the unauthorized substances tax law is confidential and may not be disclosed or, unless independently obtained, used in a criminal prosecution….”
The state emphasizes that paying taxes on illegal drugs does not legalize the drugs concerned; it “only fulfills your civil unauthorized substance tax obligation. You will still be in violation of the criminal statutes of North Carolina for possessing the drugs.”
Of the drug tax revenue the state collects, 75 percent is returned the law enforcement agency whose investigations led to the taxation. The rest goes to the general fund.
In August, $31,488 in drug tax revenue helped to cover a purchase of 48 small computers for Wilmington police vehicles.
Contact Ben Brown at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter: @benbrownmedia
