Money is rolling into the campaigns on both sides of the Massachusetts legalization question, with the Yes on 4 campaign so far out-raising the prohibitions, Boston.com reports.
The pro-legalization camp has already raised $2.4 million in 2016 – with $2.1 million coming from the Washington D.C.-based New Approach PAC. The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, the opposition supported by Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, has raised just $363,000 since its launch in the spring.
Yes on 4 has already spent the majority of its war chest on advertising, but according to their campaign finance disclosures they still have about $22,500 on-hand. The group hopes to raise $3 million before the November election.
The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts has about $320,000 on-hand, and the group said the difference in finances is due to out-of-state contributions.
“It is clear that the Question 4 campaign is being almost entirely bankrolled by out-of-state billionaires seeking to establish a commercial marijuana industry that will be focused on profits, not the well-being of Massachusetts families,” Nick Bayer, the campaign’s manager, said in the report.
One of the largest donors for the prohibitionists is the Beer Distributors PAC, who injected $25,000, according to the filings. Another anti-legalization campaign, Safe Cannabis Massachusetts, has raised just $300 so far.