Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
People United for Medical Marijuana, the political committee backing a push to get medical marijuana on the 2016 ballot, raised more than $500,000 dollars in December.
The committee, which runs the United for Care Campaign, raised $571,236 in December. That one-month haul means the organization has raised more than $9.1 million.
The committee received hundreds of small donations, or donations under $1,000, from supporters. The Morgan Law Firm, founded by United for Care Chairman John Morgan, continued to be a top donor. Campaign finance records show the law firm gave thousands of dollars during the one-month fundraising period.
The political committee spent $679,286 in December, bringing total expenditures to more than $11 million. In December, the vast majority of those expenses were related to the petition process.
As of Jan. 11, United for Care reported it collected about 900,000 petitions to get the issue on the 2016 ballot. Of those, the organization said 542,679 signatures have been validated. According to the organization’s website, it needs 140,470 more petitions to be validated to get the issue on the 2016 ballot.
The constitutional amendment would allow the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating medical conditions.
A similar constitutional amendment was on the 2014 ballot. It received 58 percent of the vote, but state law requires an amendment receive 60 percent of the support before it can become law.
