cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Backers Raise 3 Million in Two US States
function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent('Marijuana Backers Raise 3 Million in Two US States');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/27/thread27076.shtml');
 site = new Array(5);
 site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
 return false;
}






Marijuana Backers Raise 3 Million in Two US States
Posted by CN Staff on August 26, 2012 at 05:33:45 PT
By Alex Dobuzinskis
Source: Reuters
USA -- Campaigns to become the first U.S. states to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Washington and Colorado have raised $3 million ahead of a November vote, far outpacing the opposition. Proponents of pot legalization in Washington state have raised nearly $2 million since the initiative qualified for the ballot in January, and about $1 million in Colorado since its measure earned a place on the ballot the following month, according to the most recent state campaign figures.
In Oregon, where a voter referendum qualified in July, the legalization campaign reported less than $1,000 in contributions. All three state measures go on the ballot in November, when Americans vote for president and other offices.With their war chests, backers of legalization drives in Washington state and Colorado have already bought television ads in a bid to convince voters, especially those who have never smoked pot, of merits of legalizing and taxing it.Legalizing the drug for recreational purposes would run afoul of the federal government, which says that marijuana is a dangerous narcotic.The referendums in the three Western states, among the 17 that already allow marijuana for medical purposes, comes as some states battle with the federal government over its raids of medical marijuana dispensaries."If one of these initiatives wins, it will really be a breakthrough," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which seeks alternatives to the current U.S. policy to combat drug use."And in the end, just as there has been a federal-state conflict involving medical marijuana, we anticipate there will be similar conflicts when states begin to legally regulate marijuana like alcohol," he said. "But the only way we think change can happen is through this process."Polls indicate support in Colorado and Washington for legalizing pot.A July poll by Survey USA of 630 registered voters in Washington state said 55 percent backed the marijuana legalization ballot measure. The margin of error was 4 percent.Rasmussen Reports said its June poll of likely Colorado voters showed 61 percent supported legalizing and regulating pot. The survey had 500 respondents and a margin of 4.5 percent.Billionaire Peter Lewis, the Ohio-based chairman of Progressive Insurance who helped finance successful state-level campaigns for medical marijuana, has emerged as the Washington state legalization measure's largest supporter with total contributions this year of $875,000.A representative for Lewis declined requests for comment.Drug Policy Action, a group related to New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, has given $600,000 this year to the Washington legalization campaign.The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project has given the two registered groups behind the Colorado campaign most of their roughly $1 million in funds, state records show. Lists of donors to Marijuana Policy Project and Drug Policy Action are not publicly available.Legal at 21The ballot measures in all three states would legalize marijuana for people 21 and older, impose state-level taxes on the drug and allow sales of the drug at special pot stores.A representative for the U.S. Justice Department had no comment in response to multiple requests. The Obama administration's Office of National Drug Control Policy has argued that pot use is associated with addiction, respiratory disease and cognitive impairment."One of the canards the other side puts out is that keeping marijuana, even in small amounts, illegal is essentially equivalent to a modern day prohibition for alcohol, which is a total joke," said Cully Stimson, chief of staff for the conservative Heritage Foundation, which opposes legalization.Stimson said having only a couple drinks a day is healthy. "With marijuana use, the purpose is to get high," he said.Despite such arguments, opponents of legalization have so far fallen short in fundraising. State campaign figures show that Smart Colorado has raised the most of any anti-legalization group, but its 2012 total stands at less than $40,000.Holcomb said her pro-legalization group bought more than $1 million in TV air time in Washington state this month.In Colorado, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol spent $800,000 for fall season television ads, said Mason Tvert, co-director of the group. Editing by Vicki AllenSource: Reuters (Wire)Author:  Alex Dobuzinskis, ReutersPublished: August 25, 2012Copyright: 2012 Thomson ReutersCannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help 
     
     
     
     




Comment #12 posted by afterburner on August 28, 2012 at 20:35:18 PT
OT: "Energy Internet"
We have experienced here and in blogs and social media how the Internet allows us to decentralize information to achieve reforms like medical cannabis and legalization initiatives. Despite centralized and fossilized power structures of government and business, we are winning the hearts and minds of the people.Jeremy Rifkin argues that an "Energy Internet" will decentralize energy production and consumption providing new jobs and managing renewable energy with trades, storage and sharing. Over the next thirty years, this Third Industrial Revolution will replace the dying carbon-based economy, which crashed in 2008 plunging us into confusion and strife.The Agenda with Steve Paikin: Jeremy Rifkin: The Third Industrial Revolution.
http://ww3.tvo.org/video/179583/jeremy-rifkin-third-industrial-revolution{ About the video: Every industrial revolution is spurred by a shift in both energy and communication technology. Author and economist Jeremy Rifkin says we are on the precipice of a Third Industrial Revolution combining renewable energy and the internet. He joins Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss the possibility of hundreds of millions of people producing their own green energy in their homes and sharing it with each other in an "energy internet."Published on: August 26, 2012 | Length: 25:18 | Views: 631 | This video is available until: August 26, 2099 Tags: Business, Economics, Globalization, Internet, Technology, Social Issues, Business & Technology, Society & Culture
 
The Agenda with Steve Paikin.Daily current affairs show offering in-depth analysis and intelligent debate on issues of concern in the rapidly changing world around us. }The Agenda with Steve Paikin: Jeremy Rifkin: A New Era of Capitalism
http://ww3.tvo.org/video/179809/jeremy-rifkin-new-era-capitalism{ About the video: The Third Industrial Revolution will not only radically alter our economy, but also our social and political lives. The engine of the first industrial revolution, the railroad, and the defining feature of the second industrial revolution, fossil fuels, all require centralized management and massive concentrations of capital - the essence of modern capitalism. The third industrial revolution requires less. Author and economist Jeremy Rifkin tells Piya Chattopadhyay how an "energy internet" spread across millions of homes and offices will usher in a new era of decentralized, lateral power.Published on: August 27, 2012 | Length: 26:30 | Views: 278 | This video is available until: August 27, 2099 Tags: Business, Economics, Globalization, Internet, Technology, Social Issues, Business & Technology, Society & Culture }Yum!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by runruff on August 28, 2012 at 08:17:27 PT
 "With marijuana use, the purpose is to get high,
"You say that like it's a bad thing , Man"-Tommy Chong
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by Hope on August 27, 2012 at 22:07:53 PT
New Jersey
Amick: New Jersey looks on as other states pioneer marijuana reformhttp://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012/08/amick_new_jersey_looks_on_as_o.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by Hope on August 27, 2012 at 21:57:43 PT
Springfield, Mo.
City Hall Packed as Council Takes Up Nondiscrimination, Marijuana Issueshttp://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=693312
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by Hope on August 27, 2012 at 21:54:23 PT
Council plans changes for marijuana law
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120827/NEWS01/308270106/springfield-decriminalize-marijuana
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Hope on August 27, 2012 at 21:52:19 PT
Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In Kentucky
http://www.lex18.com/news/medical-marijuana-bill-introduced-in-kentucky
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by afterburner on August 27, 2012 at 21:39:40 PT
New Marijuana Documentary! (2012) 
New Marijuana Documentary! (2012) [59:46]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8Rf3bS-5lI&feature=related
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by Hope on August 26, 2012 at 16:09:52 PT
Afterburner
It sounds like he might be channeling the spirits of Richard Nixon and Art Linkletter.Wow. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by Hope on August 26, 2012 at 16:07:02 PT
"Deja Vu all over again!"
"Stimson said having only a couple drinks a day is healthy. "With marijuana use, the purpose is to get high," he said."
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by afterburner on August 26, 2012 at 12:36:12 PT
Watch Who You Are Pointing at, Stimson...
Four Fingers Are Pointing Back at You!!!!{ "One of the canards the other side puts out is that keeping marijuana, even in small amounts, illegal is essentially equivalent to a modern day prohibition for alcohol, which is a total joke," said Cully Stimson, chief of staff for the conservative Heritage Foundation, which opposes legalization.Stimson said having only a couple drinks a day is healthy. "With marijuana use, the purpose is to get high," he said. }This propaganda is straight out of Richard M. Nixon. What is this guy, a hundred year-old clone?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by runruff on August 26, 2012 at 08:13:51 PT
Oregon
A nickle-ninty-eight and counting!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on August 26, 2012 at 07:10:41 PT
Yeah Baby!
As the (s)election approaches, things look better and better for cannabis regulation in the US.My question is, what will happen after we have achieved victory at the polls?Go Mason! I am so happy it looks like victory is ours after so many decades of hard work!Jah Glory!
Marijuana Store Cannabis Shop etc. 
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment