Ohio voters soundly rejected a controversial initiative, known as Issue 3, that would have legalized marijuana in the state, but at the same time limited its sale and growth to a monopoly system.

With 98.54% of precincts reporting, voters rejected Issue 3 by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, with 64.14% (a total of 1,977,263 votes) against.

Two dozen investors — including 98 Degrees frontman Nick Lachey and former NBA star Oscar Robertson — backed Issue 3 as members of ownership groups that would each control one of 10 farms that would be allowed to grow and distribute marijuana. (Though not an investor, former talk show host Montel Williams was a vocal supporter of Issue 3.)

Lachey, who co-owns a 29-acre farm near Akron that would have been used for growth, had been using social media to encourage voters to approve the proposal. After the defeat, he seemed hopeful that Ohio voters may change their minds in time.

While I may not agree, the people of Ohio have spoken and that's the way it's supposed to work. Change takes time. #democracy #respect — Nick Lachey (@NickLachey) November 4, 2015

Instead, voters in the Buckeye State approved a competing initiative, Issue 2, though by a much closer margin than Issue 3, with 51.76% of voters (1,527,473 votes) approving that initiative. Issue 2 was aimed at protecting "the initiative process from being used for personal economic benefit." In fact, the word "marijuana" appears no where in the ballot description. But while Issue 2 was marketed at being aimed more towards monopolies, the proposal was in direct response to Issue 3 making it on to the ballot.

Some independent organizations were dubious of Issue 2's anti-monopoly claim, saying the bill wouldn't prevent state legislators from proposing monopolies, and has caused some confusion over potential issues in changing tax rates, perhaps accounting for the closer vote.

Issue 3 was a source of consternation for many pro-legalization activists in Ohio: While they supported legalization, many disapproved of the oligopoly that would have been set up in conjunction. For voters, the potential oligopoly — and the competing Issue 2 — complicated matters, making the vote as much about the system in which marijuana would be sold as it was about legalizing the drug.

If Issue 3 had passed, every state resident over 21 would have been allowed to own a certain amount of marijuana, (capped at four "flowering marijuana plants"), but commercial growth would have been limited to the aforementioned 10 farms around the state. Any retail shops selling marijuana would have only been allowed to buy from those 10 farms, generating big cash for those investors.

Adam Orens, managing director for the Marijuana Policy Group, said before Tuesday's election he'd advise Ohio voters in favor of legalization to wait for "a better piece of legislation."

Had both issues been approved, according to state law, the issue receiving the highest number of total votes would have become law, though backers of the losing issue would have been allowed to file an injunction.

While the votes were still being counted, pro-legalization groups were already getting out in front of the results. The Marijuana Policy Project issued a press release saying the results in Ohio would in no way affect efforts in 2016 in five other states: Nevada, where a proposal to legalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol has already qualified for the ballot, and similar initiatives in Arizona, California, Maine and Massachusetts.

After Ohio marijuana legalization goes down, Marijuana Policy Project issues quick statement saying defeat will have "no bearing" on Calif. — Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) November 4, 2015

The group was quick to point out that none of these five states have proposals that share the same "monopoly" language as Ohio's, which the group said it neither supported nor proposed. Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a press release: “It’s pretty obvious that the outcome in Ohio does not reflect where the nation stands or the direction in which it is heading when it comes to marijuana policy. It only reflects where Ohio voters stand on a specific and rather unique proposal in an off-year election."

Another group, Legalize Ohio 2016, which was competing with ResponsibleOhio on the legalization front during this election cycle, is in the final stages of a petition drive in an attempt to get their proposed amendment to legalize marijuana on the state's ballot for the 2016 general election.

But ResponsibleOhio, the group responsible for Issue 3, isn't giving up.

From Responsible Ohio: "The status quo doesn't work, it's unacceptable and we're not going away." #issue3ohio #MMJ — Melissa Daniels (@melissamdaniels) November 4, 2015

Ian James, executive director of ResponsibleOhio, said after the results came in: "This does not end. People are counting on us and we cannot let them down."

On the flip side, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who publicly opposed Issue 3, issued a statement, saying, “...despite over $25 million in ads, Ohioans were not fooled into putting a marijuana monopoly into the constitution. Ohio voters are smart people and said no to State Issue 3, which would have made the state’s drug issues worse, harming people and the economy."