GREENFIELD — Greenfield and Salinas police departments are among 160 law enforcement agencies across California selected to receive state grants aimed at strengthening impaired driving enforcement and prevention efforts.
The funding is part of more than $41 million awarded by the California Highway Patrol through the Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program, which supports impaired driving enforcement, education, prevention and forensic toxicology testing statewide.
According to the CHP, the grants will help local agencies conduct impaired driving enforcement operations, train additional drug recognition evaluators to better identify drug-impaired drivers and expand public education efforts through community presentations and outreach events.
“The substantial increase in grant funding this year will help even more communities keep California’s roadways safe,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said. “These grants support education, strengthen enforcement efforts to remove impaired drivers from our roads, and expand research and forensic testing to improve traffic safety across the state.”
The grant program is funded through Proposition 64, the voter-approved measure that legalized recreational cannabis in California. Revenue from taxes on cannabis and cannabis products is used to support impaired driving education, prevention, enforcement and forensic toxicology programs.
In addition to the 160 law enforcement grants, the CHP awarded education grants to 12 agencies to raise awareness about the dangers of impaired driving, toxicology laboratory grants to 10 agencies to improve forensic testing capacity, and a grant to one medical examiner’s office to enhance data collection for impaired driving cases.
The CHP said it expects to open the next application period for the Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program in early 2027.
