The cultivation of marijuana and a would-be moratorium on its production in San Juan County will be in the spotlight in an informational forum presented Tuesday, Nov. 25, by San Juan Island Grange No. 966.

The forum will include presentations about differing perspectives on marijuana production and a moderated question-and-answer session. The forum, which gets under way at the Grange Hall in Friday Harbor at 7 p.m., is open to the public.

Several local businesses have been licensed by the state Liquor Control Board to grow or to sell marijuana since Washington state voters approved Initiative 502 in 2012. The measure, which legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults, earned a 68-percent voter-approval mark in San Juan County.

Concerns over impacts on local land-use has prompted the County Council to consider imposing a temporary moratorium on accepting building and land-use applications associated with marijuana grow operations while local officials would weigh whether new restrictions on facilities of that kind are warranted.

Grange Master Roger Ellison will introduce the forum, which will be moderated by Grange executive board member Steve Porten. Speaking in support of the proposed moratorium will be Brent Snow, and in opposition, Sandy Strehlou of the newly formed Committee for Diversified Agriculture.

The Grange is hosting the forum because, in part, it has been asked to take a position on the proposed moratorium.

For more about the forum and the Grange, visit sjigrange.wordpress.com