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NORTH CENTRAL OHIO — Malabar Farm State Park, located in Monroe Township, is the former residence of American writer Louis Bromfield. The famous conservationist is credited with promoting the use of multiflora rose as a natural fence for wildlife. When the hardy and thorny rose took over country sides, critics believed the invasive weed did more harm than good. After last fall’s Ohio elections, another weed is taking the state by storm; and Monroe Township is putting up a different fence on the very thorny issue of cannabis.
Last month, Monroe Township passed a resolution prohibiting “adult-use cannabis operators and medical marijuana cultivators, processors, and retail dispensaries within the unincorporated area.” Adjacent Washington Township, home of the ski resort Snow Trails, approved the same measure one week earlier.
The decision by the townships in Richland County drew the praise of many, including Pastor Dink Porter. “The weed industry, illicit or otherwise, has a history affiliated with criminal behavior,” says Porter. “If this outlaw industry comes to the area, our community will go downhill. It is always better to prevent problems from happening rather than to treat them.”
One Ohio State study found commercial weed facilities can lead to an increase in property crime in adjacent areas. The three-year study conducted on Denver weed dispensaries suggests there is reason to be concerned about having a cannabis outlet near your home.
In February, Pastor Porter addressed Madison Township Trustees on the issue and was also one of the lead clergymen representing over one-hundred-forty congregations opposing the legalization of recreational marijuana last fall. During their clergy press conference in Madison Township, the faith leaders stated that weed decimates a person’s self-control, cognitively impairs its users, and increases risk-taking behavior. The faith leaders cited Proverbs 25 which says ‘Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.” One of the leading tourist attractions in the area, the Biblewalk Museum, happens to be located in Madison Township.
“You cannot sit on the fence on this issue. It is good to see these township trustee boards take leadership on this issue of marijuana. Because they took the first step, other elected officials will follow.”
Pastor Dink Porter
According to Pastor Porter, two Zanesville businessmen proposing to build a weed dispensary in Madison Township recently visited a local church for Sunday services to build bridges with the neighborhood. Fortunately for the faith community, the Madison Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution prohibiting commercial cannabis March 4th.
While commercial cannabis is tested and taxed, black market weed will almost always outsell its commercial competitors since it will usually cost less. In many cases, a symbiotic relationship between black market and commercial dispensaries can result.
One marijuana executive trying to get his foot in the door into the region admitted his industry’s dispensaries are helping fuel the black market. “We have seen several times that otherwise good people who have never broken a law in their lives are deciding in droves to sell-legally produced marijuana into the illegal market,” said Standard Wellness CEO Jared Maloof in testimony to the Ohio Senate in 2023. His cannabis company is trying to build a dispensary in Bellville, Ohio but has met resistance from faith leaders and citizens.
Some states that legalized marijuana for recreational use have experienced a surge in the drug’s black market activity. Colorado, in particular, has become a haven for underground marijuana cultivation and export, prompting questions about how legalization led to unforeseen consequences. Legalization opened the door to burgeoning criminal market with large-scale illegal operations being grown in plain sight. With its own plumbers, electricians, and front people who rent and buy properties, Colorado’s black market has become a magnet for international cartels. After a decade of legalization, two-thirds of the local jurisdictions in Colorado have prohibited medical and recreational weed.
This week Cass Township, in Richland County, passed a six-month moratorium prohibiting commercial cannabis. On the same day, nearby Bloomingrove Township passed a resolution banning commercial weed indefinitely. In January at Shiloh Village Council, a developer discussed locating a cultivation facility outside the village in Cass Township. One of the members of Village Council said she had serious concerns over the proposed cannabis facility and did not want increased crime in her neighborhood; her home was recently burglarized.
“You cannot sit on the fence on this issue,” says Pastor Porter, “It is good to see these township trustee boards take leadership on prohibiting marijuana. Because they took the first step, other elected officials will follow.”
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Isaiah Eight, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
View video below by clicking on image. This PBS News Hour report discusses how Colorado’s marijuana legalization strengthened the drug’s Black Market across Denver’s suburban metropolitan area. (7:34 min)
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