peter lewis Archives - TheJointBlog

Over $1 Million Raised in Effort to Legalize Cannabis in Oregon

August 4, 2014August 4, 2014

New Approach Oregon, the organization behind the initiative to legalize cannabis in Oregon which recently qualified for this November’s ballot, has raised over $1 million in their effort to get the initiative passed into law, according to state finance reports.

Philip Harvey, a resident of Washington, D.C., was the largest individual contributor, giving $150,000 to the group. Henry van Ameringen from New York gave $100,000 as the next largest individual contribution, and the late Peter Lewis, former CEO of Progressive Insurance, contributed $96,000. Other major contributors include Drug Police Action ($360,000) and Oxyley and Associates ($49,500).

Signature Collection Begins Tomorrow on Oregon Initiative to Legalize Recreational Cannabis

April 16, 2014

New Approach Oregon will begin collecting signatures tomorrow on an initiative to legalize recreational cannabis. The group will have until July 3rd to collect 87,213 signatures to put the proposal to a vote this November.

Under the proposed law, the possession of up to 8 ounces of cannabis and the cultivation of up to 4 cannabis plants would be legalized for everyone 21 and older. Cannabis retail outlets would also be authorized to distribute the substance.

Cannabis Philanthropist Peter Lewis Passes Away

December 5, 2013November 23, 2013

Peter Lewis, Chairman of Progressive insurance, has passed away today at the age of 80. Lewis was found in his home in Coconut Grove, Florida.

Peter Lewis is known within the cannabis community as one of the movements largest donors – in the past couple decades he’s donated millions of his own dollars to bring forth cannabis law reform throughout the U.S., including being instrumental in passing cannabis legalization initiatives in both Washington and Colorado last year. Lewis has also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to successful medical cannabis legalization proposals, and millions of dollars to progressive organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and MoveOn.org.

An Update On The Effort to Legalize Cannabis In Oregon

October 29, 2013October 26, 2013

By Johnny Green, TheWeedBlog.com

Yesterday an initiative to legalize cannabis was filed in Oregon. Here’s an update on that effort.

Oregon’s marijuana legalization efforts have been well documented by media outlets around the country. As I’ve said many times, Oregon should have joined Colorado and Washington in 2012, but national donors dropped the ball for one reason or another on Measure 80. I have stated over and over that if Oregon had a better initiative on the ballot, even without national campaign donors, it would have passed. Or, if national donors had donated even 1/5 what Colorado and Washington had to work with, it would have passed. Even with no money, and a poorly written initiative, we were within 3 percentage points of victory.