Athens County will be one of several Ohio counties to house a marijuana testing site if an amendment to the state’s constitution passes in November.
ResponsibleOhio, led by Athens native Ian James, is pushing for an amendment that would allow adults ages 21 and older to purchase marijuana.
The testing sites “will be responsible for regular testing of the chemical compounds found within the product (marijuana) grown and produced in the state,” according to a summary of the proposed amendment on ResponsibleOhio’s website.
Should the amendment pass in November, it would be an excellent economic opportunity for one of Ohio’s poorest counties. You could argue that Athens already benefits from the jobs created by handing out more liquor licenses than the state allots for a county, and allowing a marijuana testing site would create even more jobs, likely well-paying, in an area that traditionally experiences high-rates of underemployment.
Plus, the testing site wouldn’t even be permitted to sell marijuana, so an argument over the proposed site making marijuana even more accessible wouldn’t be valid. As it stands, it doesn’t seem as if many have difficulty finding the drug locally as is.
We’re all for the marijuana test site — even if it does mean the air smells a little bit like South Green on a spring day.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: editor-in-chief Jim Ryan, managing editor Sara Jerde, opinion editor Xander Zellner and projects editor Allan Smith. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
