This post first appeared on Arkansas Cannabiz, the Arkansas Times’ new online marijuana-industry publication.
A pair of prominent conservative donors have chipped in a total of $2 million to fund a committee opposing recreational marijuana in Arkansas, according to the group’s financial filing Thursday.
Safe and Secure Communities, a ballot question committee formed last month to oppose recreational marijuana, received a $1 million donation from Little Rock chicken magnate Ron Cameron and $750,000 from prominent Illinois conservative donor Richard Uihlein.
Cameron had previously donated $250,000 to the group.
Governor Hutchinson tweeted his opposition to the Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment last week and linked to the Safe and Secure Communities website.
Cameron has a history of donating to Hutchinson’s campaigns, dating back to at least 1996, according to Open Secrets.
Uihlein is an heir to the Schlitz beer fortune and founded shipping company Uline.
Uihlein donated more than $2 million to American Patriots Fund, a political action committee that spent more than $2 million to support Republican senate candidate Jake Bequette this year in his attempt to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Boozman.
Boozman won the Republican primary with 58% of the vote. Bequette finished second in the four-person race with 21.1% of the vote.
Cameron and Uihlein also donated to Fair Courts America, a political action committee that supported Will Jones in his race against Alicia Walton for prosecuting attorney in the Sixth Judicial District (Pulaski and Perry counties).
Jones won the race with 53.2% to Walton’s 46.8%.
Safe and Secure Communities’ financial filing showed expenditures of $72,402. The largest expenditure was $55,000 to Public Opinion Strategies of Washington, D.C. for polling. The group also paid $10,000 to Quiberg Strategies of Alexandria, Virginia, for “digital strategy” and $7,000 to Searcy attorney Brett Watson for legal services.
The financial report for Responsible Growth and for two other groups opposing recreational marijuana had not been filed as of 3 p.m. Thursday. Save Arkansas from Epidemic and Family Council Action Committee were formed last month to oppose the measure. Family Council Action Committee stated in its filing last month that it also supports the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment.
The reports must be filed, or postmarked, by the 15th of each month.
