Axios Columbus

October 31, 2024
🎃 Happy Halloween!
☔ Today's weather: Rain is likely this evening. Bring an umbrella, trick-or-treaters.
- Temperatures should be hovering around 70 at that time.
🎵 Sounds like: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Columbus members Eric Floehr and Julie Granillo!
Today's newsletter is 812 words — a 3-minute read.
1 big thing: 🌿 Where recreational sales are banned

Nearly a year ago, Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana, but whether you can buy it in your community depends on where you live.
Why it matters: The recreational marijuana business is booming, and cities and townships that ban sales within their boundaries are forgoing economic benefits like jobs and sales tax revenue.
By the numbers: As of last week, over 100 Ohio localities had opted to enact local moratoriums that override the state law — more than double the bans reported in March.
- About half are in effect indefinitely, according to an ongoing analysis from Ohio State's Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.
State of play: Though possession and personal cultivation of cannabis became legal in Ohio on Dec. 7, 2023, licensed recreational sales didn't start until Aug. 6 due to regulatory hurdles.
- Currently, sales are only happening at dispensaries that already sold medical marijuana, but the state is in the process of licensing new recreational dispensaries.
Zoom in: Local cities with temporary moratoriums in place include Delaware, New Albany, Powell and Westerville.
Yes, but: Even if you live somewhere with a moratorium, it's still legal to possess marijuana and grow up to six plants at home.
What they're saying: A majority of moratoriums cite the need to preserve public health and safety, per OSU's analysis.
- But many localities are also taking a wait-and-see approach during the initial rollout — especially after state lawmakers spent months debating proposed changes to the rules voters approved.
Flashback: Many communities enacted similar local bans after Ohio legalized medical marijuana in 2016.
Between the lines: Moratoriums aren't the only way communities can restrict access to marijuana.
- Grove City recently made headlines for not allowing dispensaries within 500 feet of homes, a stricter regulation than what's required by state law.
What we're watching: What cities with temporary moratoriums will do as their expiration dates approach.
- Obetz extended a moratorium set to expire on Sept. 30 to Feb. 28, 2025.
- Marysville's expires on Dec. 31 and Westerville's does on Jan. 7.
2. 🍺 Throwback Thursday: An earlier prohibition
Westerville's prohibition on legal weed sales tracks with the city's past, as our Franklin County History Marker tour shows.
The marker: Temperance Row Historic District at 131 W. Park St.
Flashback: Anti-Saloon League of America leaders once lived on this street near Otterbein University.
- The group was headquartered in Westerville and led the movement to pass a Prohibition amendment, finally succeeding in 1920.
- It ran a publishing house that put out pamphlets, books and songs, making Westerville the "Dry Capital of the World."
🍺 Prohibition was repealed in 1933, but local alcohol sales were still banned in Uptown Westerville until 2004.
The intrigue: These days, you can visit the Westerville Public Library's Anti-Saloon League Museum inside the old headquarters building.
The bottom line: Legal marijuana sales could come to Westerville … someday.
4️⃣9️⃣ down, 79 to go.
3. Nutshells: Your local news roundup
⏳ Intel's Ohio One progress may be delayed again, this time thanks to holdups in federal funding for the project. (Dispatch)
⚽️ The Crew were upset at home by the New York Red Bulls on Tuesday night and now face a must-win road match Sunday afternoon. (The Athletic)
📃 Secretary of State Frank LaRose is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to check Ohio voters' citizenship in federal databases. (WOSU)
💧 The EPA awarded Ohio more than $169 million to improve its water infrastructure.
- Our drinking water recently received a D+ grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers. (Spectrum News 1)
🗳️ Over 50 million Americans have already voted with less than a week left until Election Day. (Axios)
4. 🍬 Your candy generosity


We're happy to report that most of our readers will be passing out treats tonight.
What we found: Of the 183 people who responded to our Halloween candy etiquette survey, 94% said they give some amount of candy to trick-or-treaters.
Plus: You're quite generous! Over 84% of respondents said they give more than one piece of fun-sized candy or a full-sized candy bar.
👀 Our thought bubble: Could some of you full-sized candy bar households reply with your addresses for … research purposes? Thanks.
5. 🎃 Which counties can expect the most trick-or-treaters?

Some Central Ohio counties can expect more trick-or-treaters than others tonight, per an Axios analysis of census data.
The big picture: Five-to-14-year-olds — prime trick-or-treating age — make up about 12.5% of the U.S. population, with Ohio (12.4%) nearly an exact match for that average.
Zoom in: Delaware (14.9%) is the Central Ohio county with the highest percentage of trick-or-treat-aged children and the second-highest in the state.
- Marion (11.9%) and Madison (11.7%) are the lowest in the area.
Caveat: Plenty of kids younger than 5 and older than 14 go trick-or-treating, but this is the least imperfect way to slice the data for our purposes.
The bottom line: Find your county in this interactive map to gauge how much candy you might need on hand.
Thanks to Emma Hurt for editing today's newsletter.
Our picks:
🙄 Alissa can't believe it's going to rain on Halloween night again, even in the middle of a drought.
🍿 Andrew is looking forward to catching "Anora" now that it's out in Columbus.
👋 Tyler took a little time off.
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