There is a small college town in Ohio called Yellow Springs and this town has tons of tie-dye and hemp in one shop. People would classify Yellow Springs as the base for advocators of the referendum on the ballot this fall. That referendum would make Ohio the fifth state to allow cannabis for recreational and medicinal use. However, the movement is gaining a large amount of opposition. Ironically, those who typically are supporters of the pot reform movements make up a large portion of this opposition. Among the opposers is Samantha Van Ness; although she wishes to see marijuana legalized, she refuses to vote yes on the ballot this November.
“I would rather take the minor misdemeanor fine than let someone have such a massive monopoly in my state,” Van Ness says.
That is the main issue that people have in the town of Yellow Springs: monopoly. ResponsibleOhio is the organization that’s leaning towards monopoly, which means that most people who advocate legalization have an issue with the group; the group makes it clear that there are only ten areas in the state where growing marijuana would be permitted. To make matters even worse, ten groups of investors have already claimed their rights to these sites. These same groups is putting $20 million into the campaign. So basically, the investors are sinking money to try to take control of marijuana growing rights. Ian James – director of ResponsibleOhio – says there’s a reason for the ten sites.
“There are other folks that say, ‘I think we should treat marijuana like lettuce and tomatoes,’, ” James says. “Well, lettuce and tomatoes don’t impair you. Marijuana does.”
According to him, putting a cap of 10 sites makes regulating and monitoring more convenient. Also, a board ran by the state would be able to add to that number in the future. Furthermore, the large capital allows the investors to run a huge campaign.
“We are Ohio, folks. We’re not a blue state or a red state. We’re a very purple, middle-of-the-road state,” he says. “And that requires that you have a middle-of-the-road approach that doesn’t always sit well with the right and it doesn’t always sit well with the left.”
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