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Medical marijuana fundraising slows, United for Care receives $15K in March

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

New reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections show the political committee pushing for medical marijuana legalization in Florida has seen contributions wilt since Amendment 2 failed in November.

People United for Medical Marijuana, headed up by Orlando attorney John Morgan, raised $15,931 in March against expenditures of $10,666. A third of the money came from Alachua resident Michael Singer, a medical software developer and author.

Although contributions have increased over February numbers, since the new year the committee only pulled in $40,382 and spent $29,863. Leading up to Election Day 2014, the committee was able to bring in more than $8 million in monetary and in-kind contributions — with a good deal coming from Morgan himself — before falling about 2.5 points short of the required 60 percent vote to pass.

In order to get back on the ballot for 2016, the committee would need to submit 683,149 valid petition signatures to the state. In 2014, the group got the signatures in right at the deadline, and according to Division of Elections records, no signatures have been submitted for 2016.

Drew Wilson covers legislative campaigns and fundraising for SaintPetersBlog and FloridaPolitics.com. While at the University of Florida, Wilson was an editor at The Independent Florida Alligator and after graduation, he moved to Los Angeles to cover business deals for The Hollywood Reporter. Before joining Extensive Enterprises, Wilson covered the state economy and Legislature for LobbyTools.

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