Our View: Commissioners' dislike of pot not reason to restrict industry

For the past five years the marijuana industry has operated in Whitman County without incident.

The county now has 13 licensed marijuana processors or producers and five retailers - the majority of which are located in or surrounding Pullman.

It did not lead to an increase in crime.

Addiction did not soar.

Teen drug use did not skyrocket.

Roads did not become more dangerous.

There was no reefer madness.

The Whitman County Commissioners still were not deterred earlier this week from approving an ordinance that enacted a six-month moratorium on businesses that produce, process or sell marijuana in the unincorporated areas of Whitman County. It will go into effect Monday. Cannabis-related businesses that already exist will still be allowed to operate, but they will not be permitted to expand during the moratorium.

County leaders claim they need time to research what, if any, zoning regulations should be enacted that would specifically apply to marijuana.

Because five years of success and no incidents was apparently not enough time.

The moratorium was issued after a new processor, Selway Holdings LLC, applied for a rezone to operate a marijuana processing facility on Country Club Road near Pullman. Selway withdrew its application after nearby residents and officials at Washington State University and Pullman Regional Hospital voiced objections about the development, but the county still elected to go forward with the moratorium.

Those against the new business provided baseless and unfounded claims like more facilities will make it difficult to attract professionals to the area, it will turn Whitman County into a "mecca" for marijuana farms and that there could be unknown health effects on children who live near the facilities. They also warned the weed could somehow find its way into the feed of nearby cows and infuse Cougar Gold Cheese and Ferdinand's ice cream with marijuana for everyone.

The simple fact is voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of marijuana and marijuana companies have conducted business in Whitman County since 2014 without incident.

According to 502data.com, those businesses made $10 million in sales and collected $3 million in excise tax for the state. The businesses have a product in high demand, and that demand has not led to increased crime or threats to public safety and health, and Whitman County will never become a pot "mecca."

We fail to see the commissioners' logic in issuing a moratorium for an industry that has been operating in the county for five years, and their own personal distaste for the legal product is not reason to place undue restrictions on these employers. It seems commissioners think their personal opinions matter more than those of the majority of voters in Whitman County who approved marijuana's legalization in 2012.