Sheldon Adelson has donated another $1 million to anti-legalization efforts, this time in Massachusetts, according to a report by the Boston Globe. The Las Vegas casino mogul, a Dorchester native, made the donation to the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts.
Adelson’s donation constitutes more than the $634,000 the campaign has raised all year, according to campaign finance reports. Comparatively, the Yes on 4 campaign has raised more than $3.3 million this year.
“We are grateful for the support of Mr. Adelson, a Massachusetts native, who with his wife Dr. Miriam has been a long-time antiaddiction advocate,” Jim Conroy, a spokesman for Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, said in the report. “His generosity will prove critical in preventing a billion-dollar marijuana industry from establishing a foothold in our communities.”
Last month, Adelson, the CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., donated $1 million to the Drug Free Florida Committee, a political action committee pushing to defeat Florida’s medical marijuana ballot initiative. Last December, the billionaire purchased the Las Vegas Review-Journal for $140 million, according to a Forbes report. The paper had historically been pro-cannabis but in June published an editorial condemning potential cannabis legalization in the state, likely as the behest of Adelson.
Massachusetts is one of five states, along with Nevada, that will be voting on legalizing cannabis for adult use next month.
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