New York magazine's much-talked-about story about California's entertaining election season spends some time with Richard Lee, the man who would make marijuana even more ubiquitous than it already is in this capital of dispensaries, Los Angeles.

Oakland pot-shop entrepreneur Lee is the bankroller and mastermind behind Prop. 19, the November ballot initiative that, if passed, will let those 21-and-older possess up to an ounce of cannabis.

But Lee's not just a pot-club member. He's also the president, according to writer Joe Hagan's observations:

Lee appears to partake of the product. He showed up an hour and a half late to our interview and forgot the keys to the offices and classrooms and indoor pot farms that are part of his sprawling marijuana education, marketing, and distribution mecca, called Oaksterdam.

… As our interview winds down, Lee becomes increasingly distracted. During lunch, he's so engrossed in a copy of Motor Trend magazine that he stops responding to my questions.

Here's our question for you gung-ho pot-legalization supporters: Do you really want this representing the cause?

(Oh, and remember this: He's actually “kind of conservative,” according to his own words).

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