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.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom