Deschutes County commissioners plan to give the city of La Pine a half-acre parcel of industrial land the county owns in that community. That’s good.

Less good is the commissioners’ willingness to attach strings to the gift that effectively ignore state law. As things now stand, the city may get the property, but the gift will include a prohibition on using it for growing, processing or any other aspect of the marijuana industry.

Wake up, Commissioners Tammy Baney, Tony DeBone and Phil Henderson. Your personal feelings notwithstanding, marijuana is legal in Oregon.

The trio has two main arguments it says favor the restriction. The commission doesn’t want to seem to support any marijuana business, in part because the substance remains illegal under federal law. Commissioners also say they want economic diversification at the industrial park that contains the park, which in their view contains too much business devoted to marijuana.

While it’s true marijuana remains illegal under federal law, it’s difficult to see why that should have an impact on where the industry locates. More important are such things as proximity to schools and children. No one argues that the industrial park is the playground of choice for La Pine’s youth.

As for economic diversity, DeBone may be right when he says the last few vacancies in the park all have gone to the marijuana business, that’s only part of the story. In fact, according to La Pine City Manager Cory Misley, the marijuana industry takes up only a “small minority” of the space in the park.

It’s also home to construction, wood products and concrete businesses, among others, says Misley.

Why should the county say “no” to an industry that is legal in Oregon that might be the highest and best use of the land?

County commissioners should rethink their plan to limit the use of land. State law allows the growth, processing and sale of marijuana, and the law does not carve out an exception for the city of La Pine. That should be good enough for the commissioners.