Activist CEO donates $1M in stock to CA rec initiative

There could be a real fight between cannabis activists this year in California after all.

Steve Kubby, a longtime activist who worked on the 1996 medical marijuana campaign in California, persuaded the board of directors of Nevada-based Kush Research, of which he is the CEO, to throw $1 million in company stock behind the Marijuana Control, Legalization and Revenue Act.

Kubby and other supporters argue the measure is a better alternative to the more widely known initiative that billionaire Sean Parker is backing, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act.

The initiative Kubby has backed is still far behind the Parker measure, however, both in terms of endorsements and fundraising.

Parker’s group has so far raised at least $2.25 million, according to campaign finance records.

Americans for Policy Reform, the group behind the competing measure Kubby supports, has not filed any campaign finance reports yet this year, and two committees of the same name were terminated, one last year and one in 2014.

Major national groups such as the Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Policy Project are also on board with Parker’s initiative.

Though it’s not clear whether the stock donation from Kush Research is worth anything, it does indicate that there still could be significant grassroots resistance to Parker’s initiative. If that’s the case, it could endanger rec legalization this year in California and possibly prove yet another major industry setback.