Remember Nick Lachey? He’s About to Become Ohio’s Marijuana Kingpin (No, Really)

Remember Nick Lachey – formerly of 98 Degrees/ being married to Jessica Simpson fame? Well the US boyband star could become one of the main producers of marijuana today, if Ohio vote to legalise the drug. If Ohio approves the legislation, every bud of marijuana grown in the state will have to come from one of 10 designated farms. Lachey is owner of one of 10 farms that could be allowed to control large-scale cultivation of weed in the state, which would be a supplier to one of the proposed 1,100 state regulated marijuana retail shops. The former reality TV star co-owns 29 acres just outside of Akron with a couple of financial executives. It has been estimated that the regulation could lead to each of the 10 farms selling $1.1bn worth of the drug every year, within four years. Releasing a statement on the news, Lachey said: "Passage of this proposal will result in much needed economic development opportunities across Ohio, and update the state's position on marijuana in a smart and safe way." Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, argued against the plans, adding: "They are creating a constitutionally mandated oligopoly." Just a small step away from his boyband days, so?