Oct 4, 2015 2 min read

MONROE, Ohio (AP) – A southwest Ohio school district with a campus less than two miles from a proposed marijuana growing site has passed a resolution opposing a state ballot issue that would legalize pot.

The Monroe Board of Education voted this past week against the proposed amendment being pushed by ResponsibleOhio that would legalize recreational and medical marijuana and create 10 indoor growing sites across the state. One of those includes a 40-acre site less than two miles from the district’s campus, where its elementary, junior and senior high schools are located, the Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reported (http://bit.ly/1VdlLeX ).

“We hope to send a strong message about the proximity of the growing sites to the schools,” said Monroe Board of Education member Brett Guido. The district is located about 30 miles north of Cincinnati.

The resolution states the district fears that “legalizing marijuana further threatens the health and safety of our young people and will have a negative academic impact on student achievement.” It adds that the district doesn’t need “another legalized drug” to tempt young people.

The ballot issue requires all grow sites, manufacturing locations and retail stores to be at least 1,000 feet from a school, said Faith Oltman of ResponsibleOhio.

“We want to protect our kids and make sure marijuana stays out of their hands too,” she said, adding that the ballot issue will create a tightly-regulated, taxed and safe industry for adults 21 and older.”

Voters will decide the issue in the Nov. 3 election. Early voting begins Oct. 6.