Marijuana prohibitionist Kevin Sabet seems to have found himself in hot water, again, and this time it will cost him far more than his candy.
SAM Action, Inc., the political division of Sabet’s anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), has been handed down $6,000 in sanctions for campaign finance violations committed in California. SAM incurred the fines while campaigning against Proposition 64, which ultimately legalized recreational cannabis in the Golden State last November.
After conducting an investigation, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (CFPPC) recommended the $6,000 in fines be levied against the prohibitionist coalition Sabet founded.
Included in the findings were multiple infractions related to one high profile donor, Pennsylvania-based activist and former art professor Juliet Schauer. The generous donor Schauer has gone on the record before as being vehemently against cannabis legalization, even going as far as blaming it for terrorism.
The commission found that Schauer contributed $1.36 million to SAM’s quest to keep cannabis illegal for adults in California, making her the major donor for the coalition. In California, a campaign committee’s name must include their majority donor, a change SAM neglected to make after Schauer’s sizable contribution last year.
Beyond the committee name transgression, the CFPPC also discovered that SAM failed to report five separate Schauer donations on time, reported an incorrect total amount of campaign contributions, and didn’t submit a list of their ten most prolific patrons in accordance with the Political Reform Act.
Sabet, among other operators of SAM, claim the campaign offenses were “inadvertent” and can be explained by the group’s “inexperience with California campaign reporting requirements,” according to the commission’s report on the matter.
As for what’s next, the commission will meet to weigh their findings and decide whether or not to approve the fines.
The date of the meeting definitely won’t be lost on Sabet, SAM, or the legalization advocates cheering on their blunders, as they are set to convene on April 20th.
credit:marjuana.com
