On Tuesday the citizenry of Ohio soundly defeated a measure that would have legalized marijuana in the state for both medicinal and recreational purposes. The measure on the statewide ballot initiative actually went down in an embarrassing sea of flames as the measure was defeated by 64 percent to 36 percent. Many are asking why such a measure failed so soundly?

It was known in Ohio as Issue 3. Over $20 million was poured into a campaign for its passage by private sources but it still went down in a crushing defeat, according to USA Today. The main reason the initiative failed, many experts have agreed, is that is would have established an amendment to the state’s constitution allowing for unfettered profits to be made from just ten officially established marijuana farms. It would have established an oligopoly and Ohio citizens just didn’t seem to warm to that idea.

Much of Ohio’s state political machine threw everything it had against it, also. They mustered the support of over 140 major organizations, including police fraternal organizations and many chambers of commerce, in the state to kill the measure. Many just felt that the measure was too extreme and aimed at the profit and advancement of a few.

Another of the other major reasons the citizens of Ohio rejected it was that the measure asked them to make the huge leap from prohibition to marijuana being legal everywhere and for any purpose. The four states in the country that have legalized marijuana; Washington, Alaska, Oregon, and Colorado, had already established a well planned and previous system of legalizing pot for medical reasons and use. The people of Ohio just didn’t seem to want to make the gigantic leap without any baby steps in between.

Finally, political experts and pundits have commented that trying to push such an initiative during an off year election was guaranteed to fail. Turnout rarely hovers over the 30 percent mark in off year’s as opposed to over a 70 percent turnout during a presidential election year.