ADRIAN, Mich. — Jill Walter is an Ohioan who deals with migraines and anxiety on a regular basis. After years of battling her conditions, she decided to use cannabis to help.
Instead of applying for a medical marijuana card, her doctor recommended she go to Michigan.
"I don't like to have to do that, but if that's what's going to help me medically get through every day, that's what I have to do," Walter, of Fostoria, said.
But legalized recreational marijuana in Ohio could make things easier.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office is reviewing over 200,000 signatures that could put the issue of legalization on the November ballot.
It's a long-debated topic that has support from many Ohioans.
"Honestly I feel like they're ready for it," Karli Sedlacek, a Michigan resident who used to live in Ohio, said. "I know way too many people from Ohio that love smoking weed."
WTOL 11 went up to the Amazing Budz dispensary in Adrian, Michigan. Management said about half of the dispensary's sales come from Ohio. They also support legalization in other states but acknowledge it could mean a significant loss of sales at their brick-and-mortar stores.
"If it goes recreational, we're definitely going to see a downtick in the number of patients that we get, the amount of sales that we get in general," Amazing Budz Operations Director Aaron Jackson said.
Jackson also said legalization in Ohio could be an opportunity in the long term. The store floated the possibility of opening new stores in the Buckeye state, where they can sell more of their Thunder Canna private brand of cannabis products.
"Knowing that we already have thousands of customers that recognize Thunder Canna from Michigan, it'll be that much easier to expand out in Ohio as soon as it goes recreational," Jackson said.
LaRose's office will have to verify the signatures before the issue moves on to the November ballot.