ith 23 days left for Ohio voters to make up their minds on legalizing marijuana, there are a lot of complicated issues to consider.

State Issue 3 on the ballot Nov. 3 would amend the Ohio Constitution to allow adults 21 and older to possess an ounce of marijuana and get a permit to grow four flowering plants and keep 8 ounces of homegrown pot.

It also would allow anyone of any age to use marijuana for medical reasons — with a certificate from a licensed Ohio physician.

MONOPOLY: Issue 3 would create a monopoly in the Ohio Constitution for growing, cultivating and extracting marijuana.

In November, Ohio voters will get the chance to approve a constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes.

They’ll also vote on a constitutional amendment prohibiting monopolies.

Seems like a couple of issues best left to voters, right?

Problem is, the amendments conflict: One creates a private marijuana monopoly; the other prohibits such monopolies.

So, if voters approve both, lawsuits are sure to ensue, and the courts — not the people — will decide which goes into effect.

If voters across Ohio next month approve a proposal to ease criminal sanctions on marijuana, the law’s changes would fall short of a recently enacted and legally challenged Toledo ordinance.

The amendment to the Ohio Constitution would allow a resident of at least 21 years old to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use and grow up to 8 ounces of the drug if licensed by the state. Retail sale of recreational marijuana also would begin.

On Sept. 15, Toledo voters supported reducing penalties in the Toledo Municipal Code to no fines or jail time for marijuana-related offenses. The law went into effect a week ago.

CLEVELAND - With less than a month until Ohio’s controversial marijuana legalization vote, supporters and opponents of Issue 3 are ramping up their advertising time.

ResponsibleOhio, the pro-marijuana group backing Issue 3, has been running statewide ads since August.

The latest TV spot “What does Yes on 3 mean for Ohio families?” addresses concerns that Issue 3 would create a marijuana monopoly.  

“It’s a smart, safe plan,” a woman says in the ad. “Like most states that legalized marijuana, it initially limits the number of growers for strict regulation before adding more.”

According to the precedent set by other states, this claim is true in terms of medicinal marijuana.

LEGAL WEED IN THE HEARTLAND WOULD BE A HUGE VICTORY FOR NATIONAL LEGALIZATION EFFORTS. SO WHY ARE SO MANY CANNABIS ADVOCATES AGAINST IT?

It was unusually warm for late September, but Buddie didn't seem to mind.

As the mascot for a plan to legalize marijuana in Ohio, Buddie has a superhero’s physique, a green bumpy head, and a winning smile. Despite the heat, the woman on Buddie duty stood in the Oval, the center of academic life at Ohio State, and posed for selfies with students, as campaign workers registered young Buckeyes to vote.

A sophomore at an Ohio high school blames administrators and police for his friend’s suicide, claiming they verbally abused a group of students accused of smelling like marijuana at the annual homecoming dance.

Hayden Long, 16, was found dead Monday at his home in Geneva, Ohio, from an apparent suicide. According to his friend and classmate Hank Sigel, Long was part of a group of six honor students accosted by school officials at the dance on Saturday for “smelling like marijuana.”

A nonprofit foundation linked to an Ohio State University microbiologist plans to build a $24 million medical marijuana research center near Columbus if voters approve legalizing pot on Nov. 3.

Michael Ibba, chairman of the OSU Microbiology Department and co-director of the Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry Training Program, is on the board of the newly formed International Cannabinoid Institute Research Foundation. It claims to be an independent group of researchers, medical professionals, technology experts, engineers and patient advocates committed to the discovery of advanced treatments using medicinal marijuana.

A majority of voters in the swing states of Florida and Ohio support legalizing marijuana for recreational use while a narrow plurality in Pennsylvania is opposed, according to survey results released Thursday.

There was a sizable gender gap, with more men than women in each state saying the drug should be legalized for recreational purposes, though most people said they would not use it if it were legal, according to the polling from Quinnipiac University.

Legalizing marijuana Issue 3 would legalize recreational and medical marijuana in Ohio. Click here for more information about the proposal. And click here for an updated list of supporters and opponents.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A majority of Ohioans favor legalizing recreational marijuana but support has not significantly changed in the past six months despite widespread advertising and campaigning for a legalization measure that appears on the November ballot, according to poll results released Thursday.

The state of Ohio sued the city of Toledo on Tuesday to overturn parts of its new marijuana decriminalization law, alleging it will encourage drug cartels to set up distribution operations in the city.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Lucas County prosecutor and sheriff filed the lawsuit in Lucas County Common Pleas court against the "Sensible Marijuana Ordinance" passed in last month's Toledo municipal election.

The ordinance eliminated fine and jail penalties for marijuana-related offenses in Ohio's fourth-largest city, according to DeWine. The northeastern Ohio city was the first in the state to enact a local ordinance decriminalizing marijuana.