Ken Graham: FROM THE PUBLISHER

Columbia County Commissioner Dwight Robanske said it best on Monday:

“The ban will not stop pot use. It probably won’t even slow it down.”

And so, on Monday, the commissioners voted 2-1 against a proposed ban on marijuana businesses in the unincorporated parts of the county. (See story on Page 1.)

I’m encouraged to see a big dose of realism by the commissioners on pot businesses. Even Commissioner Merle Jackson, who made the motion for the ban, and lost the vote, made some very constructive suggestions in the discussion that followed about how best to regulate those businesses.

Commissioner Robanske made a strong case when he said that it is better for the county to have control over the production and sale of what is now a legal substance in our state – one that will continue to be used, ban or no ban. And I agree.

According to county planning officials, no one has recently expressed an interest in establishing a pot business in Columbia County. It may be a long time before the county’s rules are ever applied. But the county will now be ready when that time comes.

Many people in Walla Walla and Columbia counties – a majority, no doubt – would rather that no one around here used marijuana, and so they see a ban as the way to get closest to that goal.

The Walla Walla County Commissioners passed a ban on marijuana businesses in the unincorporated county late last year, and the Dayton city council did the same earlier this year, for businesses within the city.

But bans just leave an opening for black market operators. That goal is unachievable.

I hope those leaders will soon take another look at their bans and consider the more forward-thinking approach of the Columbia County Commissioners.

People around here have been using marijuana for decades. Now that it is legal in Washington, it’s time for our political leaders to take the sensible course of regulating its production and sale and maintaining control, rather than banning it and leaving it to the black market.