Pubdate: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 Source: Alaska Dispatch News (AK) Copyright: 2014 Alaska Dispatch Publishing Contact: http://www.adn.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18 Note: Anchorage Daily News until July '14 Author: Evan Halper, Tribune Washington Bureau Page: 5 FOES OF LEGAL POT SMELLING VICTORY Colo. and Wash. Said Yes. This Year, 3 May Say No. WASHINGTON - With pot sold openly to any adult who wants it in Colorado and Washington state, marijuana advocates were hoping restrictions in other states would fall like dominoes this election season, opening the way for a push in Congress to change federal drug laws. They were not anticipating a multimillion-dollar wager against them by a casino mogul. Or a spike in voter anxiety amid bureaucratic stumbles in regulating the nascent recreational pot market. Now, legalization measures are teetering in Florida, Oregon, and Alaska, states where supporters were confident of victory only a few months ago. It's all enough to seriously harsh the mellow of pro-pot advocates. "This is turning out to be a unique and very difficult election year," said Aaron Houston, a strategist for the Ghost Group, a marijuana-focused investment company. Ballot measures, he said, are under stress from the same midterm challenge afflicting all political forces on the left and their causes: an uninspired base of voters. But advocates acknowledge that some voters are also wary of how legalization has worked in Colorado and Washington. Legalization has not set off crime sprees in those states or a surge in stoned drivers, as opponents had warned, but there have been plenty of less-than-favorable headlines about marijuana-infused candies and sodas and tourists going on drug binges. Unlike in previous campaigns, foes of legalization this year have the money to make sure voters hear about those problems. The funds come from the unexpected emergence of a new and deep-pocketed nemesis for legal pot: Sheldon Adelson, the chief of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Adelson, who ranks alongside Charles and David Koch in the magnitude of money he invests in conservative politics, has spent $5 million to thwart what had been considered a routine medical-marijuana proposal in Florida. The police organizations, drug-treatment doctors, and public health advocates who have banded together in the past to fight legalization efforts have never seen so much cash. "This is totally unprecedented," said Kevin Sabet, cofounder of Project SAM, a national anti-marijuana group. "There has never even been a TV ad from the 'no' side before." "The fact that Colorado and Washington have passed legalization has helped our argument," Sabet said. "We point at their example. We ask the teacher in Eugene if they want to deal with what the teacher in Denver is dealing with, with marijuana candies brought to school." In Florida, the Adelson backed opposition has mounted a sophisticated, multimedia onslaught, raising doubts among seniors, in particular, by comparing medical-marijuana dispensaries to "pill mills" that wantonly distribute dangerous prescription drugs. Once significantly ahead in polls, the measure, Amendment 2, now appears unlikely to hit the 60 percent threshold it needs for passage. "Florida is the beginning of what will be a broader effort nationwide," said Andy Abboud, Adelson's chief political strategist. He said Adelson and his wife, Miriam, a physician specializing in drug addiction, seek to "counterbalance the mainstreaming of marijuana in the country." For them, it is personal, Abboud said. Adelson's son from a previous marriage died of a drug overdose. The outlook is brighter, but still dicey, for legalization advocates in Oregon, where voters will decide whether to go the way of their neighbors in Washington and allow the sale of pot for recreational use. Regardless of what happens, organizers believe they are positioned for big wins in 2016, a presidential election year, which typically brings out an electorate younger and more liberal. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom