UPDATE: Responsible Growth raises $850,000, considerably outraises opposition groups October 17, 2022 By Griffin Coop Responsible Growth Arkansas considerably outraised the leading opposition group last month as the campaign to legalize marijuana in Arkansas heated up, according to financial reports filed Monday. Responsible Growth raised $850,200 and reported a balance of $945,558 at the end of the month, according to the reports filed with state Ethics Commission. The industry-led group received $300,000 each from BOLD Team LLC and Good Day Farm Arkansas LLC, bringing their total contributions to $1 million each. The group received 12 donations last month, including 11 of $10,000 or more from Arkansas medical cannabis businesses. The fundraising haul for Responsible Growth dwarfed the $10,347 raised by Safe and Secure Communities, the leading opposition group, which had previously raised $2 million from a pair of Republican megadonors. Ron Cameron of Little Rock and Richard Uihlein of Illinois had contributed a total of $2 million to the group but neither contributed any more to Safe and Secure Communities. Cameron did contribute another $50,000 to Family Council Action Committee, a group led by Jerry Cox that had already received $78,600 from Cameron. Safe and Secure Communities reported expenditures of $619,246 and a balance of $1,318,698 at the end of last month, its report stated. The largest donation to Safe and Secure Communities last month was a $10,000 contribution from Little Rock’s Gregory Hartz of Foundation Resource Management Inc. Safe and Secure Communities’ largest expenditure last month was a combined $449,275 to Nebo Media of Arlington, Virginia for advertising, according to the report. Responsible Growth spent $404,593 last month, including a payment of $236,786 to Targeted Platform Media of Crownsville, Maryland for advertising. The group also spent $76,599 with Wright Lindsey Jennings of Little Rock for legal services. Family Council Action Committee spent $32,275 last month and reported a balance of $83,658. The group’s largest expenditure was $8,333 to Legacy Consulting of Lockesburg for consulting services. Legacy Consulting is owned by Chad Gallagher who worked in the administration of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. The financial report for a third opposition group, Save Arkansas from Epidemic, was not available Monday afternoon. UPDATE: A third opposition group, Save Arkansas from Epidemic, reported no activity last month. The group led by Little Rock lawyer AJ Kelly and Fairfield Bay Police Chief David Burnett intervened in the Supreme Court case that ultimately cleared Responsible Growth’s ballot title for the November ballot. The group has raised no money since it formed in August.
