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RICHLAND COUNTY — Out of the twenty-seven jurisdictions in Richland County, sixteen jurisdictions representing over sixty-six thousand residents now prohibit commercial cannabis. That number recently increased as four new townships passed resolutions formally banning the commercial sale. In July, the Board of Mifflin Township Trustees passed a resolution prohibiting commercial weed after a dispensary wanted to build near Exit 176. While a businesswoman discussed the supposed ‘tight security’ of cannabis dispensaries, not everyone was convinced.
During a July 2nd public hearing, eleven county citizens went on record opposing the proposed cannabis business in Mifflin while seven supported. One of those speaking out against commercial cannabis believes rhetoric by the cannabis industry is intentionally misleading.
“Comments by the Cannabis Industry calling their dispensaries “tighter than Fort Knox” is hyperbole,” Richland County resident Benjamin Mutti said in testimony to the Mifflin Trustees. “These clichés are not helpful for policymakers tasked with the responsibility of making consequential decisions of great magnitude. This statement only stretches the truth as no single mind-altering marijuana dispensary is sitting on one-hundred thousand acres, supplied with its own emergency power plant, nor equipped with forty thousand troops guarding its vaults with doors weighing twenty-tons like Fort Knox,” Mutti said.
Even with cameras and other security measures in place at licensed facilities, marijuana is still escaping the premises and entering the Black Market. In California, there has been a spike in burglaries of weed dispensaries, specifically in the Bay Area. A growing trend of dispensary break-ins classified as “Smash and Grabs” are occurring where stolen vehicles are being used to forcefully gain entry into the buildings and the businesses are then burglarized.
Mutti believes the true strength of a chain is determined by its weakest link. He cited testimony by a Cannabis CEO Jared Maloof who publicly admitted licensed cannabis dispensaries supply the Black Market. Maloof also participated in a Cleveland tradeshow last Spring on a panel with another Cannabis CEO who had his state license revoked. In 2022 the Ohio Department of Commerce found that former Ancient Roots CEO, David Haley, gave free samples of marijuana products out to non-medical marijuana users and falsified data in his company’s inventory system. This past year, Maloof was blocked from bringing a marijuana dispensary to Bellville.
“Comments by the Cannabis Industry calling their dispensaries “tighter than Fort Knox” is hyperbole and not helpful for policymakers tasked with the responsibility of making consequential decisions of great magnitude. This statement only stretches the truth as no single mind-altering marijuana dispensary is sitting on one-hundred thousand acres, nor equipped with forty thousand troops guarding its vaults with doors weighing twenty-tons like Fort Knox.”
Benjamin Mutti
“It is my firm belief the marijuana industry is strongly associated with corruption,” says Mutti. “Where corruption prevails, justice will not coexist. Just look at one of the most secure locations in the world: across the hall from the White House Situation Room, cocaine was found in 2023 and the U.S. Secret Service closed its investigations due to “lack of evidence.” This same corruption will likely happen in Mifflin Township if a mind-altering marijuana dispensary is allowed to open. A secure chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
Several cases of white-collar pharmaceutical crime occurring inside marijuana facilities were provided to Mifflin Township Trustees. The Ohio Commerce Department has found employees inside these licensed dispensaries where transactions were falsified, and where licensed professionals were cultivating and trafficking marijuana on the side. In one case in 2021, a licensed Canton pharmacist admitted to becoming dependent on marijuana, to making THC-laced gummy bears, and to giving them to four coworkers.
During the Mifflin Township public hearing, the point was made that the proposed dispensary near Exit 176 would allow easy access and be out of harm’s way and away from housing developments. Two citizens who spoke against the proposal pointed out that “out of harm’s way” was actually beside their residences.
Business owner and resident Leonard Dolce was also a vocal marijuana opponent. “I have children and grandchildren that live in this township and I want them to live in a safe neighborhood. Often times I see people walking up and down our road. Many times they appear to be on drugs and asking for money. A dispensary will only increase this problem,” he said. Previously, Mifflin Township passed a medical marijuana dispensary ban in 2018.
More townships are getting proactive. On June 10th, the Jefferson Township Board of Trustees passed a moratorium on the sale of commercial cannabis with no expiration date. On July 2nd the Jackson Township Trustees passed a resolution prohibiting commercial marijuana. And last week Sharon Township Board of Trustees passed their own prohibition resolution.
With theft inside licensed and secured dispensaries, Mutti comments, “These mind-altering marijuana dispensaries do not appear to be “as impregnable as Fort Knox. In some cases they appear to be more like a house of cards.”
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Proverbs Twenty-Five, “Like clouds and wind without rain, is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.”
Video below discusses that there is little evidence of the medical benefits of marijuana. (6 min.)
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