Money Runs Everything.
This week we were assigned to research propositions or new legislation and trace the funding for them. I decided to look into the recently passed proposition 64 (legalizing marijuana in California). According to ballotpedia.org, Sean Parker, founder of Napster and former Facebook President, was a huge financial supporter of proposition 64. He donated 8.6 million to yes on 64 which ended up being almost 34% of the total contribution. The California Democratic Party, U.S Sen. Bernie Sanders, Jay-Z, and actress Shailene Woodley all supported Prop 64 as well (ballotpedia). Other major donators include George Soros, "The liberal billionaire investor is reportedly behind the non-profit group called the Fund for Policy Reform, which has contributed nearly $4 million in support of Prop 64. Soros is a board member at the Drug Policy Alliance, according to the group's website" (fortune.com).
https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_64,_Marijuana_Legalization_(2016)#Campaign_finance
http://fortune.com/2016/10/29/california-prop-64-marijuana-donors/
That's exactly what we need, because sending people to jail for "holding" a medical plant is ridiculously unfair. Especially, when the government are messing with the science part of our food in plants; so in actuality the scientist who put chemicals in plants should be behind bars too.
ReplyDeleteThis was really informative! I didn't know that the founder of Napster/former Facebook President was such a supporter of legalizing marijuana. It's always nice when someone so well-off contributes so much to a worthy cause, because (as the commenter above me mentioned) it is very sad when people are sent to jail for something as minor as marijuana.
ReplyDeleteIt is not surprising to see these people as donors as they have been quite active in their pursuit of progressive views on medical drugs. Bernie was active during his campaign for presidency on the subject of the legalization and importance of medical marijuana. It would benefit the country in many ways, including economically, to continue to work towards a better understanding of medical drugs. More states should allow for legal medical drugs and work on the imbalance of drug punishment in jails.
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