PHOENIX — The campaign to keep Arizonans from using marijuana for recreation is getting a big boost from the state’s richest person.
Campaign-finance reports show Discount Tire Co. dumped $1 million into the effort to kill Proposition 205. It is a private company owned by Paradise Valley resident Bruce Halle.
Efforts to reach Halle or his company late Monday for comment were unsuccessful.
Forbes listed his “real time net worth” as of Monday at $6.3 billion. Halle’s chain has more than 900 stores in 31 states with estimated annual revenues of $4.2 billion.
The donation makes Discount Tire the single largest contributor to the cause. Only Empire Southwest, which sells heavy construction machinery, comes close, with total donations to date of $200,000.
Current law allows Arizonans with certain medical conditions, a doctor’s recommendation and a state-issued ID card to obtain up to 2ƒ ounces of marijuana every two weeks. Proposition 205 would expand the right to buy, grow and possess up to an ounce for any adult.
That effort is primarily funded by the national Marijuana Policy Project.
Halle’s donations have gained some attention before.
Last year the Paradise Valley Police Department purchased cameras to read the license plates of vehicles passing through the tony community. The department said that Halle, whose home had been burglarized in 2011, donated about $250,000 to hide the cameras in fake cacti.
More recently, the chain drew criticism from some Hispanic groups for posting signs in store windows urging the reelection of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
