SALEM, Ore. – This November, voters in Oregon and Washington will decide whether to legalize marijuana. The Washington effort is backed by some deep-pocketed national donors. But Oregon's campaign is struggling to raise even a bare minimum of cash.
Washington’s Initiative 502 would allow adults to buy marijuana at state-licensed stores. Oregon's Measure 80 would do that too, and would allow people to grow their own pot. The Washington backers have rung up more than $3 million in donations, allowing them to hit the TV airwaves.
But campaign organizers in Oregon have reported just $13,000 in donations since their more permissive measure made the ballot in July.
Some Oregon pot activists including Sam Chapman have started a separate fundraising group. Chapman says he wants skeptical donors to take another look at the Oregon campaign, which was trailing in a recent poll.
"One of the numbers that we are looking to capitalize on is the large amount of undecideds."
Chapman's independent political action committee also gives national supporters the chance to donate to a group headed by someone other than chief petitioner Paul Stanford, who made headlines last year when he pleaded guilty to income tax evasion.
On the web:
Oregon's Measure 80: http://oregonvotes.org/irr/2012/009text.pdf
Washington's Initiative 502: https://wei.sos.wa.gov/agency/osos/en/press_and_research/PreviousElections/2012/General-Election/Documents/I-502_complete_text.pdf
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network
