Voters in Ohio Deciding Whether to Legalize Marijuana in the State
Issue No. 3 in Ohio has been gaining a lot of attention recently as it is also known as the legalization of recreational use of marijuana. Tuesday's vote resulted in rejecting the ballot measure that would have finally permitted marijuana to be sold in stores and used personally even without medical issues.
The U.S. state of Ohio had been in the center of talks as a certain group of its population are suggesting and even advertising the promotion to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The ballot measure, which is also known as Issue No. 3, is backed by big-named personalities including Hollywood celebrities.
The Rolling Stone reports that Issue No. 3 included financial backers like 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey, former NBA player Oscar Robertson, former NFL player Frostee Rucker, famous fashion designer Nanette Lepore as well as a couple of descendants of President William Howard Taft.
Lachey previously released a statement in support of Issue No. 3, saying, "Passage of this proposal will result in much-needed economic development opportunities across Ohio, and update the state's position on marijuana in a smart and safe way," he said in a statement as quoted by Rolling Stone.
The loss in Tuesday's vote meant that the provision in the ballot measure supporting an oligopoly of a few prominent facilities owned by 10 individuals to have exclusive rights for commercial marijuana growth and distribution across the state will not be happening, Reuters reports.
Not only that, Issue No. 3's loss also meant that the state's constitution will not be amended to legalizing the use of marijuana for both personal and medical use for those over 21 years old. Apparently, the opposition won in the state of Ohio including Gov. John Kaish, who previously said, as quoted by Rolling Stone, that Ohio is wealthy in terms of their $2 billion surplus and that gaining more money from legalizing marijuana is not necessary.
Kaish is joined by others opposing Issue No. 3 including state attorney general Mike DeWine, the Libertarian Party of Ohio, the Green Party of Ohio and the Drug Party Alliance. Meanwhile BBC reports that marijuana legalization will also affect its accessibility since marijuana, including pot-infused sweets and other related products, will be available for purchase in stores. Individuals could have their own marijuana plants at their own yards.
However, Tuesday's vote dismissed the ballot measure, but the states of Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, including the District of Columbia, have legalized recreational marijuana, per BBC.
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