DENVER – A Washington, D.C.-based group opposed to the legalization of marijuana filed two federal lawsuits on Thursday seeking to “dismantle” Colorado’s burgeoning recreational marijuana industry.
The announcement from Safe Streets Alliance comes after attorneys general for Oklahoma and Nebraska filed a U.S. Supreme Court case in December seeking to overturn the state’s marijuana legalization.
Safe Streets initiated the lawsuit on behalf of Colorado property owners who claim legalization has negatively impacted their business and property values.
The first lawsuit concerns a marijuana center that plans to open near a Holiday Inn in Frisco. The owner of the hotel is also named as a plaintiff.
“Running a hotel just a minute away from a recreational facility under any circumstances would be problematic. But for this hotel, it draws on families, schools, and many with youth ski teams,” said David Thompson, the attorney representing plaintiffs in the case, who spoke during a news conference at the Colorado Capitol on Thursday.
The lawsuit states that the owners of Medical Marijuana of the Rockies in Frisco plan to open a second marijuana center in the town, across from the Holiday Inn.
The complaint alleges owners and stakeholders in the marijuana center violated federal racketeering laws under the RICO Act, a law usually reserved for organized crime.
Jerry Olson, owner of Medical Marijuana of the Rockies, suggested that marijuana has healing qualities, which he learned after undergoing several surgeries.
“We are opening a recreational marijuana dispensary in order to share the knowledge and potential of this plant with people from around the world,” Olson said. “This (lawsuit) seems surprisingly silly.”
In the second lawsuit, Safe Streets has filed along with Hope Reilly and Mike Reilly, who own property in Pueblo County. The lawsuit claims that a recreational marijuana grow under construction near the Reillys’ land has diminished their property value.
The lawsuit names Rocky Mountain Organics, a Black Hawk-based marijuana center that plans to open an additional facility near the property of the Reillys in Rye.
Calls by The Herald to Rocky Mountain Organics went unanswered.
The lawsuit also names several state officials for overseeing laws that regulate marijuana in Colorado, including Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, who actually opposed marijuana legalization in 2012 when Colorado voters backed the initiative by 55 percent of the vote.
A spokeswoman for Republican Attorney General Cynthia Coffman said her office had not been formally served, but added that the office would defend the state’s laws, including legalization.
Neither the owner of the Holiday Inn, nor the Reillys, were made available for questions from the media Thursday. Attorneys also would not discuss dollar figures, or show accounting records from the plaintiffs to document how marijuana legalization has impacted their values.
But Hope Reilly issued a statement saying, “We and our children visit our land on most weekends to go horseback riding and hiking, but what was once an escape from the troubles of the city now sits in the shadow of a commercial marijuana facility.”
Marijuana advocates held a dueling rally. They held signs that read, “Regulation works! Get over it.”
Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project and a lead proponent of the 2012 legalization initiative, questioned why an out-of-state special interest was trying to defy the will of Colorado voters.
“This effort is being spearheaded by ‘Just Say No’-era anti-marijuana warriors from the Reagan Justice Department,” Tvert said. “These folks have been trying to keep marijuana illegal for years, and they need to get over it.”
Safe Streets is led by James Wootton, who according to his website biography, served in the Reagan Justice Department.
Sam Kamin, a University of Denver law professor who helped develop the state’s marijuana rules and regulations, said the case is a tough one for plaintiffs to win.
“It will be very difficult for the plaintiffs to prove damages directly attributable to the marijuana industry,” he said.
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
