News » No Money For Legal Pot, On Either Side





Both supporters and opponents of California’s Proposition 19, which would legalize recreational use of marijuana in the state, reported that they are low on funds leading into the final month of campaigning. Although proponents have raised almost 10 times the amount of money with $2.1 million to the “no” vote’s $210,000, the two sides are currently reporting $67,000 on hand for Yes on 19 versus $54,000 for their opponents. The largest donor to Yes on 19, with nearly three quarters of the total funding, is Roger Lee, an Oakland medical marijuana business man and the main supporter of the bill.

More than of the Yes on 19’s funds were spent getting the measure listed on the ballot, coming in at a total of $1.3 million, still giving them a hefty lead in terms of advertising dollars, but still not enough to provide for heavy radio or TV ads. Dan Newman, a spokesman for Yes on 19 said “it’s a people-powered effort” with most resources being put towards online channels as well as field campaigning.

On the No on Prop 19 side, spokesman Roger Salazar said “all we really have to do on the no side is get the facts out in front of people, obviously we’d like to have a little more resources to do that.” Fund raising will be a priority during these final few weeks in the hopes of convincing California voters that the law would do more harm than good.

Proposition 19 is currently winning by a margin of 49% to 42%, based on a Field Research study released last month helped in part by popular belief that the measure will help to ease the state’s budget issues as well as dealing with violence on the Mexican border.

[source San Francisco Chronicle]

Tags: California, legalization, money, Prop 19