The supporter of the effort to end the sale of marijuana to adults in two states has been revealed
A staunch foe of marijuana reform is claiming credit for petitions to end adult marijuana sales in Maine and Massachusetts, where signature-gatherers are finally using deceptive tactics.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a Washington, DC-based anti-legalization organization, is donating “billion dollars in support” to voter establishment campaigns that, if successful, would end the $1.8 billion in combined marijuana sales, its founder and president said last week.
Campaigns for legalization of marijuana use at the state level have had mixed success in recent years, with voters rejecting pushbacks for adults in Oklahoma in 2023 and in Florida last year.
But never have the state’s voters or lawmakers second-guess and roll back the adult use or legalization of medical marijuana.
That could change if voter registration campaigns in Massachusetts, where signature gathering is underway, and Maine, where the state’s attorney general has canceled initial petitions, are successful.
If passed, marijuana would remain legal for adults but medical marijuana would be the only legal sales channel.
Annual cannabis sales exceed $1.6 billion in Massachusetts and reach $300 million in Maine, according to state data.
Who is behind the campaigns to end the sale of marijuana to adults in Massachusetts and Maine?
Political operatives affiliated with the Republican Party and the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts declined to say who is paying for the expensive signature-gathering campaign — and since the campaign’s filings have not yet been filed, that information is not publicly available.
Wendy Wakeman, a spokeswoman for the campaign, also declined to identify supporters during a brief phone interview Tuesday.
But on Thursday, a few hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that, once implemented, will lower the level of cannabis under federal law, SAM founder and President Kevin Sabet said they are holding campaigns.
“Now, today, for the first time, I can once again announce our support of billions of dollars for two grassroots campaigns to end the sale and sale of marijuana in Maine and Massachusetts,” Sabet said in a video posted to X.
“We still have the power to restore our public health.”
SAM did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Black money, suspected to be deceptive tactics behind the attempt to fight the law
Since campaign finance forms have not been filed, it is still unclear exactly how much money SAM donates to causes.
SAM proponents have long been a controversial issue in the marijuana advocacy world.
SAM Action, a 501(c)4 affiliate of the organization, recently said it spent more than $100,000 on television ads urging Trump not to decriminalize marijuana.
Critics point out that Internal Revenue Service reporting rules allow 501(c)4 organizations to hide their donors.
In Massachusetts, campaign workers were accused of trying to trick voters into signing petitions.
However, such tactics are protected activity by the First Amendment, courts have found.
