The campaign against marijuana legalization in Arizona received a major infusion of cash last week from a synthetic cannabis drugmaker that has been investigated for alleged improper marketing of a highly addictive prescription painkiller, according to campaign finance reports.
The $500,000 donation from Insys Therapeutics, based in Chandler, Ariz., amounts to more than one-third of all money raised by Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, the group opposing legalization. It's one of the largest single contributions to any anti-legalization campaign ever, according to campaign finance records maintained by ballotpedia.com.
The cash infusion could even the playing field in an arena where legalization supporters have traditionally outspent opponents. Until the Insys donation, legalization supporters in Arizona had out-fundraised opponents by about 3-to-1. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has raised more than $3 million, much of it from the Marijuana Policy Project, a national group working to change marijuana laws.
Read more
The $500,000 donation from Insys Therapeutics, based in Chandler, Ariz., amounts to more than one-third of all money raised by Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, the group opposing legalization. It's one of the largest single contributions to any anti-legalization campaign ever, according to campaign finance records maintained by ballotpedia.com.
The cash infusion could even the playing field in an arena where legalization supporters have traditionally outspent opponents. Until the Insys donation, legalization supporters in Arizona had out-fundraised opponents by about 3-to-1. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has raised more than $3 million, much of it from the Marijuana Policy Project, a national group working to change marijuana laws.
Read more
