Proposition 19 campaign gets $1 million donation from George Soros

George Soros, the multibillionaire investor, will donate $1 million to help pass Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization measure, which he endorsed Monday as "a major step forward."

The donation makes Soros, who is the chairman of a hedge fund and who founded the Open Society Foundations, the largest donor to the campaign after Richard Lee, an Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur, who has spent at least $1.5 million on the measure.

It provides a huge lift to the Yes on 19 campaign, which had raised about $2.4 million by mid-October, as it launched cable television advertising Tuesday in the Los Angeles area.

Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, one of the nation’s main advocates for reforming drug laws, confirmed the planned contribution on Tuesday.

"There’s no way to know what this means in terms of George Soros’ future commitments," he said, "but I for one hope that he will end up making the same commitment to broader marijuana law reform as he has since the mid-1990s to medical marijuana."

Soros has donated about $3 million to help pass three California initiatives, including the state’s 1996 measure to allow the use of marijuana for medical reasons.

Proposition 19, which would allow adults 21 and older to grow and possess marijuana, was Lee’s brainchild, and he has been the principal donor and spokesman for the cause. The wealthy donors who had bankrolled past efforts to change California’s drug laws were not involved in the campaign at the beginning and had largely stayed on the sidelines until the last few weeks.

Peter B. Lewis, a retired insurance company executive, recently donated $209,005, and George Zimmer, the founder and CEO of Men’s Wearhouse, donated $50,000. Zimmer had earlier donated $20,500. Both businessmen have supported past initiatives to soften the state’s drug laws, including the medical marijuana initiative.

Soros announced his support for the initiative, which would also allow cities and counties to authorize commercial cultivation and sales, in an opinion piece that was published online Monday evening by the Wall Street Journal. He called for marijuana to be regulated and taxed.

"Proposition 19 already is a winner no matter what happens on Election Day," he wrote. "The mere fact of its being on the ballot has elevated and legitimized public discourse about marijuana and marijuana policy in ways I could not have imagined a year ago."

-- John Hoeffel

Photo: Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg

Comments

[evan h]

Mark coll, I like your sentiments but WWII started in '39 NOT 43!!
As has been pointed out the Netherlands effectively legalised cannabis decades ago and the levels of use there are lower than both the US and the UK, strange, huh? We may also look at portugal where posession of all drugs is no longer a crime and, again, we see that levels of use are far lower. What about looking at Switzerland? Same story.
All the NO brigade talk as though cannabis is unavailable in the US and that by legalising it there will an army of eager dope smokers lining up to get what they couldn't before, and that's just not the case. We all know and like someone that smokes dope, whether we know they smoke it or not.
Confronting the "dealers will still sell it by undercutting the shops" and "dealers will just sell to kids" gang is an easy task. One only needs to look at what happened with respect to the ending of booze prohibition, which did not see the gangsters peddling their low quality wares to either children or the general public. Why? Well, as with illegal booze, illegal pot is invariably of a lower quality than the stuff one can obtain in a regulated market, like Holland. Firthermore, the weights are inconsistent and the fella selling it might shoot you. Not only that but dealers would need to sell in high quantities as their margins are squeezed, and those people simply won't exist.
This law isn't perfect, none are, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. Police and prison resources will be freed to deal with those that threaten our safety and property. That has to be a good thing.
Word.

[Harry]

Correction: Soros is giving $1M to the Drug Policy Alliance, not Yes on 19. The Drug Policy Alliance is fundraising around the efforts of Yes on 19, siphoning off donations that should be going directly to Yes on 19, creating a misperception that Yes on 19 doesn't need money, and galvanizing the opposition by making it possible for them to claim the whole initiative is a Soros conspiracy.

When it comes to taking crediting for the work of others, there is no one better than Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance. He is an opportunist par excellence. If Prop 19 passes -- and I hope it does -- no one will remember Richard Lee ten years from now once the Drug Policy Alliance PR machine takes over. Remember Dennis Peron? Some of us do. But when it comes to MMJ in California, the Drug Policy Alliance takes all the credit.

[Buy Your Medical Marijuana Stocks Now ...]

Once the Federal government finally re schedules marijuana it will be found to have untold medicinal uses...marijuana is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Schedule I drugs are classified as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision." What a joke 14 states have already voted other wise.

[blackhowler]

I am voting no on prop 19. You took away my rights to marry in 2008, i’m taking away your rights to be a pothead. See how it feels.

[bruce parsons]

First thing - there has never been any car accidents as a consequence of marijuana use. Or overdoses. What are people going to do when they find out that this makes you a better driver, not worse? Did you know the air force issues amphetamines to jet pilots for long haul flights? Because it works! Second - those places where it is legal (Portugal, Holland) see much lower consumption in teenagers not increased. Third this has been a huge waste of money and police and people - for nothing. Tax and make money instead of wasting it. Fourth - prohibition was ended not because alcohol is good for anyone but because of the gang violence. It is now the same except pot is in fact good for you - first class pain killer, antinausea appetite stimulator and so on. So disempower the gangs, make some money on taxes and allow people access to the painkiller of their choice. The cartoon idea of stoners is just so out of touch - its a cliche to say one knows judges and scientists who in their off time relax with a little puff. What I want is a puffer that wont burn my throat, or a lozenge. Smoking is not a great delivery system. I bet when it is legal booze consumption will go down, so will car accidents, so will domestic violence and all sorts of violent crime associated with booze. Lets have some fact based decision making here - not caricatures and stereotypes that were out of date forty years ago.

[justice]

comment for b re Mr. Soros being a Nazi,,,what a bunch of crock!!! these are stupid accusations, he was 14 yrs old, he happened to be a witness to this, but he himself did not do this...what official would give this power to a 14 year old...think about it..the media can certainly twist things and foolish people tend to believe everything media types dish out...