Marijuana Business Magazine November December 2018

about $150,000. CannaCraft’s building has 7,200 square feet, about half of which is used for cultivation. Each room of his indoor cultivation area is sealed and fitted with its own rooftop HVAC unit.The company’s flower rooms have additional air- sanitation units at a total cost of $15,000 for five units, he said. Even with those systems in place, earlier this year he hired an expert to conduct odor analysis of the business. The consultant used a field olfactometer to measure odors at his property as well as at the perimeter of his neighbor’s land. The device picked up odors only on two instances in three days, Walton said, and those were inside CannaCraft’s fence line. Despite the good results, Walton installed a SecureAire APS-1000 portable air-purification unit in his lobby in June to further reduce smells. He said the units typically cost $3,000-$4,000, but he received one in exchange for monitoring and graphing air-particle counts. If you hear of neighbor complaints about your operation and are struggling to figure out what to do, seek advice from an attorney or consultant who understands these issues, experts advised. What If You Are Sued Walker of East Fork Cultivars in Oregon said he suspected it was a matter of time before he got sued because of the approach being taken by McCart, the Oregon attorney who has filed three RICO suits in the state. “There’s nothing we could have done to prevent this from happening,”Walker said. “We are doing quite well, but this is a challenge for us.” AS RICO CASE GOES TO TRIAL, DEFENDANT URGES OTHERS TO FIGHT P arker Walton operates a small-batch marijuana greenhouse called CannaCraft in southern Colo- rado, about 30 miles south of Pueblo. As he says today, he happened to win the wrong lot- tery: In 2015, he was one of the first groups to be sued under the federal anti-racketeering law known as RICO. Three years and nearly $150,000 in expenses later, his case is finally heading to court. A jury trial scheduled in Denver was due to begin the week of Oct. 29. “I’m still shocked to this day how little the majority of people know about this (issue),” Walton said. “On the surface, it just looks like a dispute between neighbors. But digging into it, it’s much bigger than that.” Indeed, legal experts nationally are watching closely to see how a jury will decide the issue and what that might mean for pending cases. The plaintiffs, who own dozens of acres of pasture-like property near Walton’s operation, claim that his cultiva- tion facility emits a “noxious odor” and has diminished the value of their property. Walton and other defendants argue that the neighbors – Phillis and Michael Reilly – haven’t proved a concrete financial loss. A nonprofit group called Safe Streets Alli- ance is a co-plaintiff that has backed the Reillys. On its website, Safe Streets articulates the belief that “drugs ruin the world.” According to court documents, the Reillys often visit the property on weekends to ride horses with their children, but they don’t live there full time. RICO allows plaintiffs triple damages if they win. Wal- ton said that if he were to suffer a large monetary loss, it would put him out of business. He said he and his wife already have been “put through the ringer” by the lawsuit. Yet, his biggest piece of advice to those who are in the same situation can be summarized in one word: Fight. “Tucking your tail in and running, that’s not the right precedent to set,”Walton said. “That’s giving them a victory.” Walton initially was named a defendant because he owned the property in question, but the lead defendant was Alternative Holistic Healing, which held the cultivation license. Walton managed the operation for Joseph Licata, the principal owner of the business. Walton said he purchased the cultivation license in August 2016. Two years and thousands of dollars in legal fees later, he said he doesn’t regret the decision to buy the permit, despite the lingering lawsuit. The case has been particularly frustrating, though, because it was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn, only to be resurrected by a federal appeals court in Denver and sent back to district court in the summer of 2017. Walton said he produces on average 50-60 pounds of marijuana a month and employs eight full-time people, including himself. If not for the suit, he probably would have hired more people. But the suit has made expansion plans impossible to contemplate. “I’m scared to really do anything because this case is so weird,” he said. “It’s always in the back of my mind.” – Jeff Smith 106 • Marijuana Business Magazine • November/December 2018