cannabisnews.com: Hotly Contested or One-Sided





Hotly Contested or One-Sided
Posted by FoM on October 30, 1999 at 13:20:20 PT
Spending heavy on both Initiatives 
Source: Boston Globe
The campaign over the Maine citizen initiative on abortion has featured high-spending efforts on both sides. The one on medical marijuana, in contrast, has been a one-sided affair organizationally. 
But that doesn't mean there is no money involved in the second campaign. In fact, Mainers for Medical Rights, virtually unchallenged by organized opposition as it promotes passage of the marijuana proposal, has come up with about $650,000 to finance its drive. This month alone, according to campaign finance statements, Mainers for Medical Rights received $170,670 in cash and $41,724.65 in in-kind contributions from Americans for Medical Rights of Santa Monica, Calif. The same California-based group, says the leader of the Maine campaign, has supplied ''90 percent plus'' of the funding for Mainers for Medical Rights over a two-year period. ''We're really the only proposal of the year, Maine being the only referendum of 1999'' on medical marijuana, says Craig Brown, the chief Mainers for Medical Rights organizer. As such, Maine has become the focus of a continuing effort by ''three wealthy philanthropists'' to win popular support for the use of marijuana by seriously ill people who might benefit medically from it, Brown says. The trio of contributors, who have been active nationally in the same cause, includes George Soros, the internationally known investor. Brown identified the other two donors as insurance man Peter Lewis and John Sperling, founder of the University of Phoenix. The effort to authorize marijuana use for medicinal purposes is on a winning streak. Since 1996, five states California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Arizona have passed medical marijuana initiatives. Voters in the District of Columbia also registered approval. To date, says Brown, the referendum record on the issue is unbeaten. In the contest over the ballot-topping abortion measure, both sides have raised and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. Seeking enactment of a prohibition on what proponents describe as ''partial birth abortion,'' the United for Life Coalition one of several organizations promoting passage reported expenditures of about $597,000 through Oct. 21. The Respect Life Educational Foundation listed spending at about $250,000, virtually the same amount the United for Life Coalition reported receiving from it earlier this month. The United for Life Coalition also reported outstanding loans of $200,000 with about $29,000 in cash on hand. Both groups are sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland and spokesman Marc Mutty said Saturday that by the end of the campaign the proponents of the abortion proposal will have spent about $1 million. On the other side, the No on 1 Coalition the largest organization opposing the abortion ballot proposal reported expenditures of more than $961,000 through Oct. 21. Through that date, the No on 1 Coalition reported having more than $97,000 in cash on hand and loans owed of $80,000. By Francis X. Quinn10/30/99 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Mainers For Medical Rightshttp://www.mainers.org/Medical Marijuana Retains Strong Support - 10/28/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3469.shtmlMedical Marijuana Stance Has Sheriff Under Fire - 10/27/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3450.shtmlSheriff Backs Ballot Question To Legalize Some MJ - 10/21/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3366.shtml Marijuana Vote Sparks Little Controversy - 10/16/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3312.shtmlReefer Referendum - 10/08/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3203.shtml 
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