ME: Marijuana Legalization Backers Are Dramatically Outspending Their Opponents

Katelyn Baker

Well-Known Member
The campaign pushing for marijuana legalization in Maine has raised $1.3 million this year, more than 26 times as much as the group opposing Question 1 on the November ballot.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the group backing Question 1, reported raising $904,145 in cash contributions in the reporting period that ended Wednesday, primarily from a Washington, D.C.-based political action committee that advocates for marijuana reform. The campaign is sharply outspending Mainers Protecting Our Youth and Communities, a PAC formed to oppose legalization in Maine.

Mainers Protecting Our Youth and Communities reported raising $50,000, according to a campaign finance report filed Wednesday, bringing the total amount raised since its formation in September to $50,861. The Alliance for Healthy Marijuana Policy of Alexandria, Virginia, in September donated $50,000 to the campaign.

Question 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot asks voters if they want to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and over. If approved, adults would be able to posses up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, grow their own plants and buy marijuana from licensed retail stores. The initiative also would allow marijuana social clubs and place a 10 percent sales tax on marijuana. Marijuana use would be prohibited in public, with violations punishable by a $100 fine.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol reported $825,000 in donations from New Approach PAC, the Washington, D.C.-based marijuana reform organization. The Marijuana Policy Project, the largest organization in the United States focused solely on marijuana policy reform, made $36,000 in in-kind contributions, primarily for polling and staff time.

Rick Steves, a well-known travel writer and television host, donated $50,000 to support the legalization campaign. A prominent supporter of legalization in the U.S., he previously promised to match "dollar-for-dollar" donations up to $50,000. He will be in Maine next week to support marijuana legalization.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol reported spending more than $590,000 on television ads. The campaign this week aired its first ad, which features former Rep. Mark Dion, a former Cumberland County sheriff.

Mainers Protecting Our Youth and Communities also began airing a television ad this week titled "Not on My Maine Street." The video ad valued at $10,000 was donated for adaption for the Maine campaign by No on Prop 205, a group opposing Arizona's marijuana legalization initiative.

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News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Legalization Backers Are Dramatically Outspending Their Opponents
Author: Gillian Graham
Contact: (207) 791-6650
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Website: Portland Press Herald
 
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