Opponents of the ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana say the measure is being pushed by outside interests.
The ballot committee supporting recreational pot, called Yes on 4, has received close to $3 million dollars in donations—90 percent of that money from outside of Massachusetts.
Those donations include more than $300,000 from the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project in “in-kind” donations, such as office space, polling and paid staff.
That, says the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, which opposes the ballot measure, is a sign that corporate interest, not popular support, is behind the pro-legalization campaign.
“They are funding the legal staff, the communications staff, they're essentially funding the infrastructure of the campaign," said Cory Welford, a spokesperson for the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts. "And they stand to profit millions if this passes.”
Jim Borghesani, a spokesperson for Yes on 4, responded by email that that characterization is false, and part of a "reefer-madness fear campaign."
Borghesani pointed out that the opposition committee has accepted donations from Massachusetts' beer industry.
