Funding for two state referendum drives is coming almost exclusively from out-of-state sources.

A citizen initiative to end recreational marijuana sales and add tracking and testing requirements to medical marijuana received a $2 million infusion from Smart Approach to Marijuana Action Inc., a dark money group from Virginia.

And a citizen initiative to remove transgender protections for students is mostly funded by an $800,000 contribution from conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein, the founder of the Wisconsin-based Uline Corp., a shipping supplies company.

The disclosures contained in campaign finance reports filed this week show the outsized role that national groups may play in deciding local issues in the 2026 election cycle. The cycle also includes competitive races for a U.S. Senate seat and a seat in the U.S. House.

Uihlein and his wife donated about $138 million to various federal political groups during the 2024 cycle, according to Open Secrets. His primary Super PAC, Restoration PAC, spent about $35 million supporting Trump and attacking his opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris. It also spent $3.1 million opposing Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, D-2nd District.

Trump has so far made antitransgender policies a central part of his second term in office. He’s targeting states with transgender protections, including Maine, with investigations and lawsuits.

Uihlein made his $800,000 donation in October to the Safeguard Girls Sports ballot question committee, which is leading the initiative. The group spent $740,000 on signature gathering, records show.

Meanwhile, an effort to end Maine’s recreational cannabis program and increase regulations on medicinal marijuana is being funded by an out-of-state dark money group.

SAM Action Inc. is the sole donor listed on reports filed by Mainers for a Safe and Healthy Future, Inc., which is leading the petition drive.

About $500,000 has been spent so far, mostly for gathering signatures.

SAM Action is a 501c(4), so it is not required to report its donors.

The group, which opposes the legalization and commercialization of marijuana, claimed $15.9 million in revenue in 2024, according to Propublica.

The antimarijuana campaign in Maine was accused by cannabis supporters this week of deceiving voters while collecting the signatures necessary to place its initiative on the ballot.

People across the state have reported that petition gatherers have been falsely pitching the initiative as a way to ensure that cannabis sold at shops is free of toxic chemicals.

Petitioners must gather 67,682 signatures from registered Maine voters by Feb. 2 to qualify for the November ballot.