The growing, processing, and retail selling of marijuana has been legal in Washington state for just under two years, and during that time, the Journal has endeavored to report on the once-illegal activities as we would any other emerging industry.

Our approach has erred on the side of earnest as we’ve steered clear of puns about getting or being high in headlines and elsewhere, wanting to inform but not romanticize the industry.   

At times, I’ve wondered to myself whether we’re giving the subject too much play, but there have been enough legitimate business angles to warrant the attention we’ve given it. First, demand outweighed supply. Then, supply surpassed demand. Marijuana businesses can’t bank their money due to the state law being at odds with federal law—and thereby FDIC regulations—and security risks go with handling large amounts of cash. Those dynamics made for several fascinating articles. 

Recently, some civic and church leaders have raised questions about the location of a retail marijuana store in the city’s core. The concerns centered around the shop’s proximity to churches and substance-abuse treatment facilities. 

The next day, City Council President Ben Stuckart made statements strongly affirming the shop’s right to be located in the city’s core and said the city wouldn’t look at regulating marijuana businesses further unless data suggests a necessity for stricter rules. He was quoted in a Spokesman-Review article as saying he was “worried that the marijuana industry is going to get the wrong idea.” 

That’s all fine, but the marijuana industry is a new one, and it’s not unreasonable to think that rules and regulations will need to be reworked. Should pot shops be prohibited near churches? I don’t know why that would be the case. Should they not be allowed near treatment facilities? I don’t know. Should elected officials be open to citizens’ concerns about such issues? Absolutely. 

Initiative 502 was less about legalizing marijuana and more about decriminalizing the substance. We don’t need our jails full of people who grow, sell, and consume weed. I agree with that, as did a majority of Washington state voters.

I was in high school when Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No anti-drug campaign swept the nation. At that time, anti-drug efforts clumped marijuana in with cocaine, heroin, and other illegal substances. Back then, we knew on some level that pot didn’t belong in the same category. 

But the gradual mellowing of that stigma and decriminalization shouldn’t be confused with social progress. This isn’t akin to civil rights or gender equality, and sometimes, it feels as though people who support legalization treat it as such. Marijuana alters mood and more often than not involves inhaling smoke; the potential for societal costs and population-health issues exist.

This column isn’t an attempt to ring alarm bells or pass moral judgments. Marijuana decriminalization provides opportunity for industry pioneers to build businesses and make money, dynamics that make for interesting business articles. It provides a welcome, new tax-revenue source for local and state governments, which creates the potential to do more good for all citizens. 

But it’s a new industry that stems from what previously was illegal activity, and issues likely will arise within it that are worthy of discourse. As such, all of us should monitor if and how it’s affecting our community with a discerning eye.