If Ohio goes to pot, the poor will spend, Nick Lachey will profit

YES, IT'S TRUE that in America, you can rise from nothing to become a wealthy celebrity/sports star/businessperson/etc.

It's just getting more difficult.

Why?

Because when the rich get richer, there's less for the not-yet-rich.

And because the fix is in.

The Washington Post reports that if the legalize-marijuana initiative passes tomorrow in Ohio, 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey will become a weed kingpin.

Should the bill pass, it would restrict virtually all large-scale marijuana cultivation to 10 specifically designated Ohio farms.

The owners of those farms include Lachey, designer Nanette Lepore, NBA luminary Oscar Robertson, former NFL player Frostee Rucker, a pair of President William Howard Taft's great-great-grandnephews and 20-some others who - say it isn't so - are the same folks bankrolling the campaign.

According to the Post, the initiative's organizers - led by sports agent and private-equity investor James Gould - maintain that the novel arrangement is the only way to fund a successful legalization campaign in Ohio.

To get the initiative on the ballot, each ownership group was asked to put up $4 million. To purchase the land and run the farms would cost an estimated $10 million, says the Post. Lachey's piece of the pot would be 29 acres near Akron, which he would co-own with a pair of financial execs and a car-dealership owner from Texas. Every one of the 1,100 state-regulated marijuana retail shops across Ohio would have no choice but to buy from one of the 10 farms.

Gotta love the free market.

Within four years, according to one study, it is estimated that those 10 farms would be selling $1.1 billion worth of pot every year.

Lachey declined an interview with the Washington Post, but his rep shared this statement:

"Ohio is my home, and as a resident and local business owner I am proud to be part of a movement that has the potential to create jobs, reinvigorate the local economy and improve the safety of our communities. 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."

Weed shall overcome.

So, according to Lachey, your friendly neighborhood pot grower? He's a job creator.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

* Roman Polanski again beat a U.S. attempt to extradite him, as a Polish judge ruled that the nation's law forbids sending the filmmaker back to the United States, where he pleaded guilty nearly four decades ago to having sex with a minor.

"I can breathe now with relief," Polanski told reporters in Krakow.

"I pleaded guilty. I went to prison. I have done my penalty. The case is closed," said the 83-year-old director, who appeared thin and exhausted.

Polanski was initially charged on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, but was allowed to plead guilty in 1977 to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot in L.A.

His prison time? A 42-day psych evaluation.

Some folks pay a steeper price than others.

* Art galleries around the world are collecting Lego pieces for dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei after the Danish toy company refused to supply its product for his latest project.

Ai, whose work is often critical of Chinese authorities, says Lego last month refused a bulk purchase order from an Australian gallery where he plans to build a new artwork on the theme of freedom of speech.

Ai called the move "an act of censorship and discrimination," but Lego says it can't endorse the use of its bricks in projects with a "political agenda."

Lego reported sales of $2.1 billion in the first half of 2015. China is one of Lego's biggest growth markets.

* Sandra Bullock had a "Crisis" and Bradley Cooper got "Burnt" as their high-profile releases added to a pileup of flops at the box office, where new wide releases have gone 0-for-9 in the past two weeks

After five films failed to draw moviegoers last week, Hollywood got no treats on Halloween weekend as four new movies, and one expanding wide, went largely ignored.

That enabled the top three films from the past several weeks - "The Martian," "Goosebumps" and "Bridge of Spies" - to remain atop the ranks, according to studio estimates yesterday.

"Burnt," starring Cooper as a former top chef in Paris, took in $5 million despite playing on more than 3,000 screens. "Our Brand Is Crisis," about political strategists in Bolivia, managed a scant $3.4 million on 2,202 screens. "Truth," which recounts CBS' reporting on President George W. Bush's military service, expanded to 1,120 theaters, earned just $901,000. "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" grossed just $1.8 million on 1,509 screens.

Hollywood hopes to turn things around this weekend with the return of Bond. James Bond.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

Email: gensleh@phillynews.com

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