Pubdate: Fri, 20 Feb 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Authors: Ricardo Baca and John Ingold

FEDERAL SUITS WANT SALES PLOWED UNDER

The Two Actions, Which Name the Governor As a Defendant, Claim a Pair 
of Businesses Violate Anti- Racketeering Laws.

Two federal lawsuits filed Thursday in Colorado aim to "end the sale 
of recreational marijuana in this state," according to attorney David 
Thompson, who represents the plaintiffs in both cases.

Gov. John Hickenlooper is among the defendants named in the lawsuits, 
which also target state and local officials and two Colorado 
marijuana businesses. Both suits claim that the businesses are 
causing nuisances in violation of federal anti-racketeering laws.

One of the suits takes that a step farther, arguing that Colorado's 
licensing of all recreational marijuana businesses should be halted 
because it conflicts with federal law - a claim similar to that made 
by Nebraska and Oklahoma in their ongoing lawsuit against Colorado 
over legalization.

"Federal law criminalizes a recreational marijuana business," 
Thompson said Thursday at a news conference announcing the suits, 
"and state and local officials cannot implement a licensing regime 
designed to facilitate federal felonies."

Both suits were filed on behalf of Colorado residents by the Safe 
Streets Alliance, a Washington, D. C.- based group opposed to the 
legalization of marijuana.

In one suit, the plaintiffs- Hope and Michael Reilly-claim that the 
construction of a large marijuana cultivation facility next to land 
they own in Rye interferes with their views and their property's scenic value.

"We bought our land in part for those spectacular views, but now they 
are marred by the sight of an illegal drug conspiracy at our 
doorstep," Hope Reilly said at Thursday's news conference.

The grow facility is being built by Rocky Mountain Organics. Multiple 
voice mails left at the store's Black Hawk location for owners Joseph 
and Jason Licata, named as defendants in the suit, went unreturned 
Thursday. Other defendants named in this lawsuit are Hickenlooper, 
Department of Revenue executive director Barbara Brohl, Marijuana 
Enforcement Division director Lewis Koski and the Pueblo County Commission.

In the other lawsuit, Holiday Inn in Frisco claims its business is 
already suffering because of a recreational marijuana shop it says is 
planning to open 75 yards from the hotel's front door.

"Many of its guests are youth ski teams and families with children," 
the lawsuit says. "Many parents and coaches will avoid booking with a 
hotel that is within a short walking distance and direct sight of a 
recreational marijuana store and grow facility."

At the news conference, Thompson said he couldn't quantify how much 
business the hotel has lost but called the damages ongoing. The 
hotel's owners protested Summit Marijuana's proposed move to the 
Frisco Town Council in January. Frisco's mayor rejected the hotel's complaint.

Marijuana legalization supporters slammed both suits Thursday. 
Advocate Mason Tvert said the lawsuits would not overturn Colorado's 
laws legalizing marijuana use, home cultivation and limited 
possession, even if they succeeded in shutting down the state's 
regulatory system for stores.

"Ultimately," Tvert said, "the goal of the lawsuit is to ensure that 
Colorado is not controlling marijuana."

Sam Kamin, a University of Denver law professor who teaches a course 
on marijuana law, also expressed skepticism about the suits. Neither 
of the businesses targeted in the suits is even operating in its 
contested location yet, Kamin said. And, he said, the Reillys' 
complaint about obscured views has nothing to do with the marijuana 
grow's illegal activity.

For a federal racketeering lawsuit filed by an individual to succeed, 
"you have to show that your business or property interest were harmed 
by a corrupt organization," Kamin said. "Displeasure is not good enough."

A spokeswoman for the Colorado attorney general's office said the 
state has not been formally served with the suits. When it is, she 
said, the attorney general's office will defend Colorado's marijuana laws.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom