While the looming specter of a moratorium may have vanished, the tug-of-war over marijuana production and whether impacts of the newly created industry warrant a new regimen of local land-use rules remains anything but resolved.

In a 3-0 decision, the San Juan County Council voted without dissent Jan. 12 to disengage from its pursuit of a would-be moratorium that by design targeted the processing of permits for marijuana-related production facilities. By default, however, that same moratorium may have also applied to the construction of any type of greenhouse, regardless of whatever crop it was intended to house, from tomatoes to basil, to bok choy.

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More than 40 years ago, the federal government launched a war on drugs. Over the past decade, the nation has spent hundreds of billions of dollars fighting that war, a figure that does not even include the high costs of prosecuting and jailing drug law offenders. It's hard to put a price on that aspect of the drug war since half of all inmates in federal prison today were busted for drugs.

Despite the enormous expense and growth of the prison population, only 7 percent of American adults now think the United States is winning the War on Drugs. Some 82 percent disagree. The latest statistics on drug usage support that conclusion.

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Two boats, a pickup truck and 200 pounds of "B.C. Bud" were seized as federal officers arrested six Canadian citizens on Orcas Island early Sept. 6.

Sheriff Bill Cumming said officers of the U.S. Customs Service backed by the U.S. Coast Guard arrested four men and two women on suspicion of drug trafficking that morning on the north side of Orcas Island.

The suspects are in the custody of federal authorities. Prosecution will be handled in federal court in Seattle because of the amount of marijuana seized, Cumming said.

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