Homeless in Arizona

Laurie Roberts didn't use those words, but she points out the phoney baloney Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol is mostly funded by the dispensaries, who will make millions, if not billions if it is passed.

Her article also sees to imply that J.P. Holyoak is a liar with his statement of:

“We’ve actually seen quite a bit (of support) from the construction industry, which will then be providing services, the contractors and those types of trades, as well as the agricultural industry is providing support to us…,”

I saw him speak at ASU and he said something to the effect that he either owned or ran a medical marijuana dispensary.

Laurie Roberts points out in the article that 98% of the donations to fund the initiative are from people involved in the marijuana industry. The same people who will make millions or billions of it passes.

I also should point out that Laurie Roberts is a prohibitionist who has written several articles against legalizing marijuana.

But I do agree with her that the phoney baloney MPP initiative to legalize marijuana is 99% about making the owners of the dispensaries wealthy and next to nothing about ending the evil draconian laws that throw people in prison for victimless marijuana crimes.

Source

Roberts: Look who's bankrolling the push for pot in Arizona

Laurie Roberts, The Republic | azcentral.com 6:46 a.m. MST July 19, 2016

It seems the grassroots campaign to legalize weed in Arizona is more grass than roots.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol has raised $2.2 million, according to its most recent campaign finance filing. The vast majority of that was put up either by the national pot lobby or local medical marijuana dispensaries that stand to corner the lucrative market should Arizona voters legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

Most of the rest comes from other businesses in the marijuana industry.

Yet just last month, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol talked of its “broad coalition of contributors.”

No connections to the pot industry

“We’ve actually seen quite a bit (of support) from the construction industry, which will then be providing services, the contractors and those types of trades, as well as the agricultural industry is providing support to us…,” campaign chairman J.P. Holyoak said, when turning in nearly 260,000 signatures to put the measure on the November ballot. “We’ve got hotels, bed and breakfasts and tourism that’s supporting us.”

If so, they don’t show up on the group’s latest financial disclosure report, filed June 30.

By my calculation, at most 2 percent ($46,000) of the $2.2 million comes from people and businesses that appear to have no connection to the marijuana industry.

No one from the construction or tourism business has contributed. Not so much as a single bed and breakfast on the list.

But the Marijuana Policy Project is there. That’s the Washington D.C.-based group working to legalize marijuana in five states this year. Of the $2.2 million thus far sunk into the Arizona campaign, a whopping $840,000 comes from the Marijuana Policy Project or its foundation.

Dispensaries pony up big

Other big contributors:

$135,000 from Arizona Grassroots Dispensary, a medical marijuana dispensary in Mayer.

$97,500 from Monarch, a medical marijuana dispensary in Scottsdale. [Does anyone know if Kathy Inman and or Andrew Myers is connected to this one???]

$85,000 from Urban Greenhouse, a west Phoenix dispensary.

$80,000 from Sixth Street Enterprises, which runs Nature’s Az Medicines, medical marijuana dispensaries in west Phoenix and Fountain Hills. [Anybody know if this is the one where Kathy Inman used to work at???]

$80,000 from The Holistic Center, a north Phoenix dispensary.

$70,000 from High Mountain Health, a Flagstaff dispensary.

$55,000 from Green Sky Patient Center of Scottsdale North, a dispensary in Scottsdale.

$50,000 from the Giving Tree Wellness Center of Mesa, a dispensary.

$52,000 from Advanced Nutrients, a Washington company that makes hydroponic products.

$50,000 from Hydroponics Solutions, of Phoenix.

$50,000 from Az Compassionate Care, which runs Tru Med, a medical marijuana dispensary in Phoenix.

$40,000 from Mohave Green, a dispensary in Mohave Valley

$25,000 from Arizona Natural Selections, a Peoria dispensary

$21,600 from Harvest of Tempe, a dispensary. More industry heavy-hitters

The largest individual contributors:

$55,000 from Steve White, a Tempe attorney whose firm represents medical marijuana dispensaries.

$6,000 from Elizabeth Stavola, who is listed as a self-employed manager from New Jersey. No indication of whether that’s the same Elizabeth Stavola who went from Wall Street to owning medical marijuana businesses in Arizona and Nevada and is looking to expand into Maryland, according to the Washington Post.

$5,600 from Steven Trenk of Scottsdale, managing member of the Budding Enterprise Fund, a company that invests in marijuana businesses. Or as he calls it, “this exciting and rapidly-expanding new frontier.”

$5,000 from Jeremy Sova, of Colorado, vice president of business development for American Cannabis Partners.

It makes sense that most of the money to bankroll legalizing weed would come from the marijuana industry. There is, after all, big money to be made and the proposition gives existing medical marijuana dispensaries the first shot at opening the limited number of pot shops that initially would be allowed under the law.

The question is, does it make sense for Arizona?

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Meanwhile, Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, the group that opposes legalizing marijuana, has raised $638,000. (See report here.)

Its biggest contributors include: the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry ($60,000), Empire Southwest ($50,000), Robson Communities ($25,000), Microchip Technology ($25,000), U-Haul ($25,000), Sun State Builders ($19,500), Arizona Public Service/Pinnacle West ($10,000), and the Arizona Wine and Spirits Wholesale Association ($10,000).

Individual heavy hitters include: Randy Kendrick ($100,000); car dealer Dan Grubb ($25,000) and Dan Brophy, investor, (25,000).