Not since the days when American politicians campaigned outside local taverns in an effort to tip the drunkard vote by bribing patrons with booze has there been an electoral strategy of evil genius quite like one aimed at legalizing marijuana in Israel.
The Green Leaf Party, a coalition working to get into the legislative branch of the Israeli government, known as Knesset, recently announced a Kickstarter campaign in which they are awarding gifts of marijuana to financial contributors who support their crusade.
The organization, which is soliciting funds to eventually get their foot in the door of Israeli Parliament, launched their fundraising campaign just over a week ago and has already collected over $31,000 USD, which is well over their initial goal, and it is set to run for another month.
Although some of the less expensive investment packages have sold out, contributors can still sink money into several levels of support that will earn them a voucher for up to 10 grams of marijuana once it is legalized. “Every supporter will get a real limited edition IOU for buying legal cannabis,” according to campaign website.
The Green Leaf Party has been working for the past several years to educate Israeli citizens and party leaders about cannabis. Unfortunately, the organization has encountered many obstacles in their efforts to get politicians to support their cause, which is one of the reasons the group does not currently have representation in Parliament. “We found out that the politicians who support the issue are not subjected to it and not really working hard enough for it,” said organizers.
However, the fundraising campaign has so far been a great success, which could lead to the group attracting the proper cooperation needed to finally get their voice heard before the legislature. And campaign supporters are counting on Green Leaf’s success, as they ultimately forfeit the ability to collect on their IOUs if Israel does not legalize the leaf.
