Pubdate: Mon, 11 Jan 2016
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Patrick McGreevy

BIG MONEY INTO THE POT

Ex- Facebook Chief Donates $ 500,000 to a Petition Drive for 
Marijuana Legalization.

SACRAMENTO- Former Facebook President Sean Parker has contributed $ 
500,000 of the $ 1.25 million raised so far for a petition drive to 
qualify an initiative that would legalize the recreational use of 
marijuana in California, according to records filed last week.

Supporters need to collect 365,880 signatures of registered voters in 
the coming months to put the measure on the November ballot. The 
initiative would allow those who are at least 21 to possess and use 
up to an ounce of marijuana. It would also impose a15% tax on retail 
sales of the drug.

Parker, a billionaire who co-founded the file-sharing service 
Napster, has called the proposal "a sensible, reform-based measure 
that protects children, gives law enforcement additional resources 
and establishes a strong regulatory framework for responsible adult 
use of marijuana."

The campaign also reported Thursday that it had received $ 250,000 
each from the groups Drug Policy Action, New Approach PAC and 
Californians for Sensible Reform, a political committee funded by 
Weed maps Inc., a company that helps people find cannabis dispensaries.

"These are the initial ground-floor contributions that came in when 
we formed our campaign just days ago, but they are literally just the 
beginning of what we expect to be a dedicated, diverse and well 
funded consensus campaign from the largest coalition ever formed in 
California on this issue," said Jason Kinney, a spokesman for the campaign.

He said the initiative had recently been cleared to circulate 
petitions, and "we're prepared to hit the ground running and 
anticipate signature-gathering to begin all across our state in a 
matter of days."

The money went to a committee called Californians to Control, 
Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana While Protecting Children.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom