Advocacy or Influence? Colorado's Psychedelic Policy Funding Puzzle
In 2022, The Center for Voter Information funded both Colorado's Psychedelic campaign and state Democrat's 'Get Out The Vote' campaign. The Sam Bankman-Fried conviction could expose the connection .
Colorado highlights a critical dynamic in modern politics: the interaction between campaign finance and the regulation of psychedelics. This case goes beyond state lines, underscoring the challenges of transparency and the publics best interest in an era shaped by financial influences. It raises essential questions about how these forces impact democracy and policy-making in the emerging industry of psychedelic medicine.
Introduction
In November 2022, Colorado voters passed Proposition #122 to ‘legalize’ psychedelics in the state. The Sam Bankman-Fried conviction have raised questions about the Center for Voter Information’s (CVI) funding of the Colorado Psychedelic Campaign while simultaneously sending out targeted “Get out the Vote” mailers in Colorado for the Democratic Party during the 2022 election cycle.
Documents suggest a possible connection between CVI's campaign funding of the Colorado Psychedelic Initiative and concurrent influence in 2022 the state election results through micro-targeted ‘Get out the Vote’ mailers.
CVI's Financial Contributions and Targeted Mailers
Donation to Psychedelic Campaign (Prop #122): CVI donated $1,322,5000 to Colorado's psychedelic campaign in 2022. (CO TRACER)
Mailer Distribution: In addition,1,322,238 million Democratic targeted ‘Get Out The Vote’ mailers were sent out in Colorado by CVI and it’s sister non-profit, VPC (The Voter Participation Center). The two organizations sent out over 85,000,000 million mailers nationwide for the 2022 election cycle and 350,000,000 mailers nationwide in 2020.
Concerns: The fact that the amount of donations and mailers are within 0.02% of each other has raises concerns about Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg’s narrative that he and Representative Judy Amabile had to drastically alter the voter approved initiative because “People don’t know what they voted for” and “This is what happens voters write laws”. (As discussed in a Boulder, Colorado town hall in February 2023)
History of CVI / VPC “Non-Parisian No-Profits”
Founded: CVI/VPC was founded by Page Gardner in 2002. Gardner has worked closely with Bill and Hillary Clinton since the 1992 Presidential Campaign. Hillary Clinton made headlines this year for expressing the need to deprogram Republican voting cult members.
Ties to the Mind The Gap Super PAC: A 2019 Mind The Gap Super PAC Memo listed CVI/VPN as “The most effective investment that Democrats can make in the 2020 elections.”
CVI’s Expansion: Tax records reveal CVI/VPC’s significant growth in national elections, with over $150M in dark money spending for the 2019-2020 cycle. (Tax Records for the 2021-2022 cycle will be available later this month)
Despite their Non-Partisan tax status, CVI / VPN’s mailers for the 2020 Presidential campaign suggest a different narrative: CVI/VPN do not have to disclose their funding as registered as 501c3(c4) ‘Non-partisan Non-Profits’. A review of 2020. Presidential campaign mailers seemingly contradicts this ‘Non-Partisan’ claim.
The Center For Voter Information does not have to disclose donor’s since it is registered as a “Non-Partisan Non-profit.” This is one of the 350,000,000 CVI \VPC sent out during the 2020 election cycle.
Mind the Gap PAC and, it’s ties to CVI
Mind The Gap: Reported first by VOX in 2020, the Super PAC was created by Barbra Fried, the Mother of Sam-Bankman Fried. It identified several Silicon Valley mega donors including Facebook’s Dustin Moskovitz.
Million Dollar Donations in 2022: Two $1,000,000 donations were made to the Mind The Gap Super PAC in 2022. One by FTX (Sam Bankman-Fried) and the other Dr. Karla Jurvetson.
The Jurvetson Foundation: Dr. Jurvetson is the ex-wife of Steve Juverston, a billionaire businessman and founder of The Jurvetson Foundation. The foundation’s website shows a request for donations to the Healing Advocacy Fund, the lobbying arm of New Approach PAC, which is currently lobbying for specific regulations from the psychedelic advisory boards in Colorado and Oregon.
The Sam Bankman-Fried Family Connection
Sam Bankman-Fried:
Founder of FTX crypto exchange.
Convicted on November 2, 2023, of 7 counts of fraud and conspiracy.
Bankman-Fried used $100,000,000 in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says.
Barbra Fried and Joesph Bankman (Sam’s Parents):
Barbra and Joseph are former Stanford laws professors specializing in ethics and tax law respectively.
Barbra founded the Mind the Gap Super PAC after the 2016 Presidential election where Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton.
Implications for CVI Dark Money: With 100,000+ documents now publicly available from the Sam Bankman-Fried trail, plus the upcoming discovery phase against Sam’s parents in New York Federal court, the darkness around the CVI / VPN’s dark money and activities may receive some light. Either way, both non-profits will likely be mortally wounded with Silicon Valley donors for next years presidential campaign.
Above Board?
With a substantial portion of the Colorado psychedelic campaign funding originating from CVI, one of the DNC’s most advanced tools for winning elections, it is possible that politicians with larger political aspirations may not have the best interest of Colorado at heart.
Colorado's Psychedelic Advisory Board, appointed by Governor Jared Polis, is tasked with advising Colorado State agencies (D.O.R.A. and D.O.R.) on the regulation of psychedelics in the state. It stands at the forefront of shaping what could be the world's largest legal psychedelic market. However, it has faced concerns of outsourcing its responsibilities to the Healing Advocacy Fund and questions about ethical conflicts of interest. For example, Lundy, the chair of the Colorado Psychedelic Advisory Board, runs Quantum Mental Health in Denver, which advertises the services the board is creating rules for. Lundy has a four year term on Colorado’s Psychedelic Advisory Board and co-founded Circus X Productions, an art production company “curating experiences for a spiritually conscious world.”
Don’t listen to what they say, but watch what they do and follow the money.
Outside lobbying interests like the Healing Advocacy Fund could influence favorable conditions for out of state stakeholders within the burgeoning Colorado psychedelic industry, potentially at the expense of the state’s taxpayers. Funding of the Colorado’s psychedelic campaign by CVI should also raise concerns around ideological manipulation (the sub-perceptual manipulation of voting preferences) during psychedelic journeys.
Healing Advocacy Fund, members of the advisory board, and representatives of Governor’s office have all expressed the intent to have Colorado Medicaid help fund the psychedelic program at this years Psychedelic Science Conference sponsored by M.A.P.S. With the Senate President Steve Fenberg’s decision to move up the timeline of the psychedelic Ibogaine used to treat opioid addiction to the end of the next year, it could cost the state taxpayers an astronomical amount for the benefit of out of state stakeholders.
CVI has perfected campaign messaging and become the gold standard for democratic Voter Information. Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg’s narrative about the ignorance of voters as the catalyst for gutting a voter passed initiatives feels disingenuous and contradictory.
Conclusion
This should serve as a call to action for transparency and accountability in both campaign finance and the appointment of psychedelic advisory boards. The perils of allowing the psychedelic lobbying money from one specific political party to go unchecked could potentially result in partisan interests dictating policies that could forever affect Coloradan's quality of life, political control, and tax burden.
The implications of this reverberate beyond Colorado's borders, highlighting the intricate dance between advocacy groups, dark money political campaigns, and psychedelic regulatory bodies. It reveals a tapestry of influence that shapes public policy, often outside the public eye, raising profound questions about the essence of democracy, transparency, and the role of public participation in the era of big-money politics and psychedelics.
Additional References:
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Fessler, Pam. “A Big Vote Registration Push Reaches Millions - but Divides Elections Officials.” NPR, National Public Radio, 13 Feb. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/02/13/805694260/a-big-vote-registration-push-reaches-millions-but-divides-elections-officials.
Glynn, Earl F. “Did 85.5 Million Mailings from One Group Affect the 2022 Elections? Did Its 360 Million Mailings Affect the 2020 Elections?” Substack, Watchdog Lab, 27 Jan. 2023, watchdoglab.substack.com/p/did-855-million-mailings-from-one.
Gura, David. “It’s Not Just FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried. His Parents Also Face Legal Trouble.” NPR, NPR, 2 Oct. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/10/02/1200764160/sam-bankman-fried-sbf-parents-ftx-crypto-collapse-trial-stanford-law-school.
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Thayer, Parker, and Hayden Ludwig. “Sam Bankman-Fried Charged with Using Stolen Funds for Political Donations.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Aug. 2023, www.theguardian.com/business/2023/aug/14/sam-bankman-fried-latest-charges-campaign-donation-ftx.
Zilber, Ariel. “SBF’s Mom Told Him to ‘avoid’ Disclosing Millions in FTX Donations to Her pro-Dem Pac: Suit.” New York Post, 22 Sept. 2023, nypost.com/2023/09/22/sbfs-mom-pressured-son-to-break-campaign-finance-law/.