Plan B Forum

Billionaire investor George Soros has given $US1 million ($1.01 million) to support passage of marijuana legalisation in California a week before the state election, after polls showed the proposal losing steam with likely voters.
“Regulating and taxing marijuana would simultaneously save taxpayers billions of dollars in enforcement and incarceration costs, while providing many billions of dollars in revenue annually,” Mr Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed article.

Mr Soros donated $US1 million to the “Drug Policy Action Committee to Tax and Regulate Marijuana - Yes on Prop. 19,” according to a filing posted on the California Secretary of State’s website.

Mr Soros’s spokesman, Michael Vachon, confirmed the contribution.

Mr Soros is a longtime proponent of legalisation. He spent $US3m on initiatives that led to the legalisation of marijuana for medical use in the 1990s.

Recent opinion polls suggest, however, that Californians are unlikely to opt for full legalisation – although some commentators have speculated that people may just be reluctant to come out in favour of marijuana in public.

A University of Southern California/Los Angeles Times poll on October 22 showed 51 per cent of likely voters opposed, to 39 per cent in support. A May survey showed backers leading, 49 per cent to 41 per cent.

The Soros donation could alter the dynamic. The donation became public 48 hours after the ‘no’ side began television and radio ads warning that legalisation would be an utter disaster, with truck drivers and hospital personnel doing drugs on the job.

"Imagine coming out of surgery and the nurse caring for you was high," said one ad.

Proposition 19, a referendum on the November 2 ballot, would make it legal for Californians over 21 to possess and grow pot for personal use.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/billiona ... utostart=1

with truck drivers and hospital personnel doing drugs on the job.

"Imagine coming out of surgery and the nurse caring for you was high," said one ad.

oldr_n_wsr wrote:

with truck drivers and hospital personnel doing drugs on the job.

"Imagine coming out of surgery and the nurse caring for you was high," said one ad.

What a useless argument.

oldr_n_wsr wrote:

with truck drivers and hospital personnel doing drugs on the job.

"Imagine coming out of surgery and the nurse caring for you was high," said one ad.

What a useless argument.