A federal law designed to battle the mafia is giving cannabis opponents a new strategic format to help their battle to stop the expansion of the industry: racketeering lawsuits,
A Colorado dispensary recently closed after a Washington-based group who is against legal marijuana sued not only the dispensary but a long list of firms conducting business with it from its landlord and accountant to the Iowa bonding company guaranteeing its tax payment.
One after another a handful of the defendants came t the decision to stop doing business with Medical Marijuana of the Rockies, until the mountain dispensary went out of business and had to sell off its marijuana at fire sale prices. With pending litigation located in Southern Colorado, he cases define a new approach to fighting cannabis. If the federal government will not stop its expansion, individuals who are in opposition of marijuana state, federal racketeering lawsuits could.
Pot may be eagle under state laws, yet the federal laws still state that any cannabis related business is looked at as an organized crime. “It is still illegal to cultivate, sell or possess marijuana under federal law,” stated Brian Barnes, attorney for Safe Streets Alliance, a Washington-based anti-crime organization that brought the lawsuits on behalf of neighbors of the two Colorado marijuana businesses.
Attorneys on both sides have stated that the Colorado racketeering approach is novel
“If our legal theory works, basically what it will mean is that folks who are participating in the marijuana industry in any capacity are exposing themselves to pretty significant liability,” Barnes said.
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