SOROS' GIFT TRIPLES FUNDS FOR PROP. 19

California's marijuana legalization campaign, which has struggled to
raise money despite the intense nationwide focus on the issue, was
jolted Tuesday when a multibillionaire investor with a long interest
in loosening drug laws endorsed Proposition 19 and donated $1 million.

The contribution triples the amount of money that legalization
advocates have to spend in the final week before the Nov. 2 election
and dwarfs the $317,500 that the California Chamber of Commerce has
spent on radio ads in Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego against
the initiative.

"Better late than never," said Dale Sky Jones, a spokeswoman for the
Yes on 19 committee, saying the campaign still has time to reach
undecided voters. "It will be a nail-biter to the end."

George Soros, the chairman of a hedge fund and a philanthropist, made
the donation as polls showed support slipping and as the Yes on 19
campaign began to run its first ad on cable television, targeting
voters in the Los Angeles area. On Wednesday, the campaign plans to
roll out the ad featuring a former San Jose police chief in Chico,
Fresno and Bakersfield.

Soros donated to a campaign committee run by the Drug Policy
Alliance, a national advocacy group that he also supports
financially. Stephen Gutwillig, the organization's California
director, said the money will help turn out supporters and air the
television ad, but declined to be more specific. The alliance and Yes
on 19 committee have about $1.5 million to spend.

The opposition committee has raised far less, relying heavily on law
enforcement organizations. The campaign had $47,000 in mid-October
and has since raised $93,000 in large donations. The campaign is
running radio ads in Redding and Chico aimed at voters who have not
seen extensive television coverage.

"We've been outspent on this campaign from Day 1, and the more they
spend, it seems like the lower they go in the polls," said Roger
Salazar, a No on 19 spokesman. The initiative, which had long been
ahead in polls, has fallen behind in the latest surveys, though some
put it at a statistical tie.

Both campaigns are highlighting support from law enforcement. The
initiative has been endorsed by 28 law enforcement veterans in
California, but the opposition touts the support of many California
police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys and every state law
enforcement organization that has taken a position.

The proponents held a teleconference Tuesday with four former police
officers who said enforcing marijuana laws wastes time that officers
could devote to serious crimes, and creates a black market that fuels
drug gangs. The opposition campaign, which had no events Tuesday, has
scheduled a news conference Wednesday with the San Diego County
sheriff and district attorney.

The Drug Policy Alliance, which hopes to persuade black and Latino
voters to back the initiative as a civil rights issue, will showcase
a study Wednesday that found Latinos were arrested on misdemeanor
marijuana possession charges more often than whites in 33 California
cities between 2006 and 2008.

The alliance has also issued reports showing higher arrest rates for
African Americans. The latest report found the disparity was highest
in Pasadena, with Latinos arrested 2.9 times more than whites,
followed by Santa Monica and Alhambra at 2.7 times. In Los Angeles,
the rate is twice as high for Latinos.