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Appeared on听听/听听/听.
Colorado鈥檚听听to legalize marijuana possession is billed by one leading local advocate as 鈥渁 grassroots effort here on the ground,鈥� but an examination of contributions to the campaign tell a far different story.
听from the Secretary of State鈥檚 office show that the four registered committees supporting legalization collected more than $1.4 million through Sept. 12, with more than $1.2 million coming from states other than Colorado.
鈥淭hey have an incredible amount of money,鈥� said Floyd Ciruli, analyst at听听Polling and Consulting. 鈥淚t primarily came from out of state.鈥�
Ciruli said Colorado is among other Western states 鈥渢hat have a little more libertarian attitude,鈥� making them 鈥渇ertile ground for laws that would legalize various behaviors like drugs.鈥�
The top campaign contributor to Colorado鈥檚 Amendment 64 is听, a Washington, D.C.鈥揵ased lobbying group that has donated more than $1.1 million. According to the group鈥檚 website, it has more than 124,000 members and supporters.
Other top donors in favor of the proposition include national lobbying group 听($90,000), California-based soap company 听($50,000) and Lawrence Hess of San Diego ($30,000).
, co-director of the听听and a marijuana advocate in the state of long standing, said most of the pro-initiative work is being done by Coloradans.
鈥淭his is a grassroots effort here on the ground. We have individuals canvassing their neighborhoods all across the state. We鈥檙e confident we鈥檒l continue to see support grow.鈥�
Morgan Fox, a spokesperson of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in an email that the big spending should help.
鈥淭he financial backing that the campaign has gathered so far will ensure that it is able to get its message out to voters far more effectively than the opposition, which will certainly be a benefit,鈥� Fox wrote.
However, polling indicates that support for the measure may be wavering.
A听听Pollsters听听conducted in June indicated 61 percent of voters would vote in favor or marijuana legalization. A more recent听听conducted by听听in late August and early September showed 47 percent in favor, 38 percent opposed and 15 percent uncertain.
鈥淭his latest survey is more sobering,鈥� Ciruli said. 鈥淚t suggests to me that while they have the advantage of money, and I do think they have an argument, there鈥檚 an uphill battle. There鈥檚 a tendency for the positive vote to have attrition due to attacks, second thoughts, a variety of things.鈥�
Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a听听last week that he was opposing Amendment 64.
鈥淐olorado is known for many great things 鈥� marijuana should not be one of them,鈥� Hickenlooper said. 鈥淎mendment 64 has the potential to increase the number of children using drugs and would detract from efforts to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. It sends the wrong message to kids that drugs are OK.鈥�
Only one group, Smart Colorado: Vote No on 64, is registered to campaign against the measure. Smart Colorado had raised $194,000 through Sept. 12, and most of its money also came from out of state.
Florida-based听听contributed $151,497 of the total. The group also funded opposition to a 2006 Colorado legalization attempt. The organization did not respond to phone calls and emails for comment.
Tvert鈥檚 organization is the official campaign driving the initiative.
If approved by Colorado voters, Amendment 64 will make it legal for those 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. It also would create a regulatory system for marijuana similar to that of alcohol. 听And it would allow cultivation and sale of industrial hemp. Federal laws, however, still would outlaw marijuana possession and use.
Both听听and听听have similar amendments on their Nov 2012 ballots. Another ballot measure failed in听, with 53.5 percent of Californians voting 鈥淣o鈥� on the legalization and taxation of marijuana.
Another pro-legalization advocacy group,听, collected $779,000 last fall, almost all of it from Peter Lewis, an Ohio man who founded Progressive Insurance. The group spent the money on听听and research in the Colorado Springs area before disbanding at the start of this year. Tvert said the group isn鈥檛 affiliated with the current initiative.
For more information, see听