How Anti-Mafia Laws Could Bring Down Legal Pot - Rolling Stone - Amanda Chicago Lewis:
August 28, 2017 - "Earlier this summer, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado decided that the 'noxious odors' from a pot farm could be lowering nearby property values and creating a nuisance. The decision came out of a civil suit by the farm's neighbors under federal racketeering law, and could set a landmark precedent. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and this decision makes clear that private citizens can now circumvent state law and do what Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants but has yet to do: challenge the legitimacy of states and businesses participating in legalization....
"The whole thing is being paid for by a D.C.-based nonprofit called the Safe Streets Alliance – an obscure anti-drug organization that the opposing side's lawyer has called 'a fake organization' and 'a sham.' No one knows who exactly belongs to the Safe Streets Alliance, or where their money comes from. The attorney representing Safe Streets Alliance, Brian Barnes, says he can't provide any details about the group's funding and membership, citing attorney-client confidentiality, but ... [t]hose affiliated with the group have legitimate public health and cultural concerns about legalization ... and don't think that states should be allowed to so flagrantly violate federal law....
"[T]he Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as RICO... has helped the Department of Justice go after top people in the mafia, say, or in the bribe-infested soccer organization FIFA, for crimes committed by their affiliates. RICO also allows private citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who assists in the committing of a crime that harms their property or business.
"RICO's whole notion of 'racketeering' creates a useful but alarming tautology, depending on the case and your point of view. To accuse someone of racketeering, or to seek damages under racketeering, is to go after them for the crime of committing a crime. Because marijuana remains federally illegal, literally everyone involved in state-legal pot markets is vulnerable under RICO....
"A handful of major RICO lawsuits could be enough to scare many legal cannabis operators out of existence – not to mention the potential financial consequences: RICO plaintiffs are entitled to receive triple damages, as well as attorneys' fees.
"'Things like this sort of take on a life of their own, and somebody who is obviously anti-cannabis has decided to push it. They think that this is the Achilles' heel," says influential California attorney Henry Wykowski, who has argued on behalf of cannabis operators in federal court several times. "It is scary stuff. I just hope that the defendants get really good lawyers, because this could have an effect on the entire industry."
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/how-anti-mafia-laws-could-bring-down-legal-pot-w499585
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August 28, 2017 - "Earlier this summer, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado decided that the 'noxious odors' from a pot farm could be lowering nearby property values and creating a nuisance. The decision came out of a civil suit by the farm's neighbors under federal racketeering law, and could set a landmark precedent. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and this decision makes clear that private citizens can now circumvent state law and do what Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants but has yet to do: challenge the legitimacy of states and businesses participating in legalization....
"The whole thing is being paid for by a D.C.-based nonprofit called the Safe Streets Alliance – an obscure anti-drug organization that the opposing side's lawyer has called 'a fake organization' and 'a sham.' No one knows who exactly belongs to the Safe Streets Alliance, or where their money comes from. The attorney representing Safe Streets Alliance, Brian Barnes, says he can't provide any details about the group's funding and membership, citing attorney-client confidentiality, but ... [t]hose affiliated with the group have legitimate public health and cultural concerns about legalization ... and don't think that states should be allowed to so flagrantly violate federal law....
"[T]he Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as RICO... has helped the Department of Justice go after top people in the mafia, say, or in the bribe-infested soccer organization FIFA, for crimes committed by their affiliates. RICO also allows private citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who assists in the committing of a crime that harms their property or business.
"RICO's whole notion of 'racketeering' creates a useful but alarming tautology, depending on the case and your point of view. To accuse someone of racketeering, or to seek damages under racketeering, is to go after them for the crime of committing a crime. Because marijuana remains federally illegal, literally everyone involved in state-legal pot markets is vulnerable under RICO....
"A handful of major RICO lawsuits could be enough to scare many legal cannabis operators out of existence – not to mention the potential financial consequences: RICO plaintiffs are entitled to receive triple damages, as well as attorneys' fees.
"'Things like this sort of take on a life of their own, and somebody who is obviously anti-cannabis has decided to push it. They think that this is the Achilles' heel," says influential California attorney Henry Wykowski, who has argued on behalf of cannabis operators in federal court several times. "It is scary stuff. I just hope that the defendants get really good lawyers, because this could have an effect on the entire industry."
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/how-anti-mafia-laws-could-bring-down-legal-pot-w499585
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