The conflict between cannabis farmers and their rural neighbors has grown into a full-blown federal lawsuit.
Residents of the south Adobe Road neighborhood in Sonoma County filed suit yesterday against a nearby cannabis grower for violations of federal racketeering law. They allege that they have been virtually driven from their homes by round-the-clock noise and an unbearable stench emanating from 40 large cannabis greenhouses.
The grow, located at 3062 Adobe Road near Petaluma, has been operating since June without county permits or a state license, the group said. They are asking the federal district court in San Francisco to shut it down.
“The stink of cannabis is everywhere inside and outside our home,” said Stefan Bokaie, one of the plaintiffs. “We cannot swim, barbeque or enjoy our backyards. My wife feels nauseous. We cannot sleep because the grower has run a huge generator 24/7 since June.”
The lawsuit is the first in the county, but Craig Harrison, of the Bennett Valley-based group Save Our Sonoma Neighborhoods, hinted there may be more after an August Board of Supervisors meeting. SOSN said then that the board failed to address neighborhood safety when it finalized the county cannabis ordinance.
“We are prepared to take additional steps, with overwhelming support from Sonoma county,” Harrison.
“Who wants to smell the odor of cannabis plants or worry about safety while walking in a park?,” said Harrison. “Who wants to see Sonoma Mountain lined with ugly security fences to prevent criminals from stealing high-valued cannabis plants?”
The Adobe Road lawsuit seeks to invoke the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a law that originally designed to combat organized crime.
Named as defendants in the suit are Green Earth Coffee LLC and its principal, Carlos Zambrano, as well as the property owner, Flying Rooster, LLC, which leases land to the grower. Exchange Bank, which holds a mortgage on the property, is also named.
In addition to asserting racketeering claims under RICO, the complaint alleges that the grow is illegal under state and local law because the operation lacks both a Sonoma County cannabis permit and a state cannabis license.
“The County cited the grower for over 40 violations months ago but has since then gone missing in action,” said Bokaie. “We are not against cannabis. But it needs to be grown in a responsible way, under rules that respect our neighborhoods.”
Speaking for the plaintiffs, Bokaie said the county Board of Supervisors has allowed a commercial cannabis industry without appropriate rules or enough resources to enforce them. “The neighborhoods feel abandoned,” he said.
Enforcement is vital, agreed Ken Brown of the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Enthusiasts. “The operators are operating outside of state and local law,” said Brown, the ex-city councilman. “The county has a process, and these farmers should follow it.“The county should do everything they can to take action against bad actors to protect the neighborhoods and laws in place.”
The lawsuit contends that a federal Court of Appeals recently held that, although cannabis may be legal under state law, it is still illegal under federal law, and that property owners may therefore sue growers for damages under federal racketeering statutes. Under RICO, the plaintiffs argue that they are eligible for triple damages.
Kevin Block of Block & Block LLP is representing the Petaluma neighbors in their lawsuit. “The neighborhoods may feel abandoned ,” he said, “but they are not helpless.
“Given the county’s failure to take tough enforcement action against illegal grows, neighbors have no choice but to take their fate into their own hands and fight to protect what they value,” Block said. “That is precisely what neighbors on south Adobe Road are doing.”
This story has been updated to include quotes by Craig Harrison and Ken Brown.
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