LEWIS ALONE IN FUNDING POT-LAW PROJECT

Peter B. Lewis, the Cleveland insurance tycoon and
philanthropist, contributed $340,000 last fall to bankroll a political
fund started by a group working to legalize and regulate marijuana
use.

Lewis, the chairman of Progressive Corp., is the only contributor so
far to the fund launched last September by the Washington-based
Marijuana Policy Project, said Krissy Oechslin, a spokeswoman for the
group. Oechslin said Lewis also provided about half of the group's
operating budget of about $1.8 million last year.

The goal of the new fund is to defeat certain members of Congress who
oppose liberalization of marijuana laws, Oechslin said.

"He [Lewis] obviously believes very strongly in this," said Larry
Noble, head of the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group
that monitors political donations and disclosed Lewis' contribution
Tuesday.

Shannon Radigan, a spokeswoman for Progressive, said Lewis is not
giving interviews about his contributions. She said Lewis' "support of
such initiatives comes entirely from his personal funds" and does not
reflect views of the insurance company.

Lewis has been a leading contributor to efforts throughout the country
to liberalize marijuana laws. In 2001, he donated $7 million to the
American Civil Liberties Union, and earmarked $5 million of that for
the group's drug-policy litigation project. He also contributed more
than $3 million last year to organizations that are trying to defeat
President Bush. Lewis was arrested for marijuana possession in 2000 in
New Zealand. He made a contribution to a drug rehabilitation center
and the charges were "discharged without conviction."