Marijuana Station Official Blog

Monday, August 16, 2010

Peter Lewis Resigns from the Marijuana Policy Project

Billionaire philanthropist Peter Lewis has left the Board of Directors of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), after resigning his position as Chairman of the Board. In a related development, yesterday ten out of twenty-nine MPP staff members were laid off. MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia told HIGH TIMES, "The purpose of the downsizing was to ensure MPP's long-term health and financial stability.”          
According to multiple sources, Lewis has already assembled a panel including former Executive Director of the ACLU Ira Glasser, Americans for Safe Access Executive Director Steph Sherer and former Nebraska Governor Bob Kerrey, and tasked them with advising him on moving forward as a supporter of marijuana law reform.   

Lewis was the primary financial contributor to MPP and helped it become the best-financed marijuana law reform organization in the world. In 2007 alone, he contributed $3 million to the organization.
“Peter is giving no more money this year,” confirmed MPP director of communications Mike Meno, adding, “He already gave $900,000.”
           
“We're now at the level we were at in 2004,” Kampia said, “meaning six departments, 19.5 people on staff, lobbyists in six state capitals, and revenues of $2,300,000.” The executive director maintained that, “MPP is more stable now than it was in 2004, because our revenues now come from 9,000 members, rather than huge checks from a few people."           
Meno also confirmed that Allison Green, Kampia’s long-time chief of staff who helped found the organization in 1995, resigned from MPP on June 1.

"Kind of old news, but some dont know"

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