Diane Valden reports in the Columbia Paper that when or, increasingly, if state legislators legalize recreational marijuana in New York, the Columbia County Board of Health recommends county leaders “strongly consider banning the retail sale” of pot in this county. Democrats took over the State Senate this year, and many of them ran on legalizing marijuana. But that has proved more difficult than commonly thought, and the legislature's session ends June 19, with little chance of passing a law on the issue. Columbia County Board of Health President Pat DiGrigoli said, “We’ve just taken a big step forward with tobacco 21 and then we look to make a drug that has been illegal for a long time legal and more accessible… it doesn’t make sense to our members.” Ultimately, if the state passes a marijuana legalization bill that allows counties to opt-out of sales, it will be up to the Board of Supervisors to decide if retail outlets exist in Columbia County. Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.