Nation IN BRIEF : MISSOURI : Kansas City Raises Taxes to Fight Drugs

Beginning today, the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan area is raising taxes by an estimated $14 million a year to help authorities tackle the area’s drug problem. The one-quarter-cent rise in the sales tax will generate nearly $100 million over its seven-year life from over-the-counter sales in Jackson County. The tax will enable the county prosecutor to add about 25 prosecutors and the Kansas City Police Department and the Jackson County Drug Enforcement Task Force to hire 30 more officers each. About $2.5 million a year is earmarked for drug rehabilitation programs, $1 million for community crime prevention programs and $1.5 million for a program that would allow offenders to receive drug counseling.