Billionaire Soros Gives $1M To Back Prop. 19
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Billionaire George Soros has thrown his weight behind California's marijuana legalization measure with a $1 million donation a week before the vote.
The contribution reported Tuesday by The Sacramento Bee is the single biggest donation from an individual other than Proposition 19's main sponsor, Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur Richard Lee.
Soros was one of the top financial backers of the 1996 measure approved by California voters that made the state the nation's first to legalize marijuana for medical use.
The $1 million comes a day after the Yes on 19 campaign launched its first television ad.
Neither side in the ballot measure contest has until now seen a huge outpouring of cash, though supporters have significantly out-raised opponents throughout the campaign.
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