How Anti-Mafia laws could bring down legal pot

RICO laws were written to combat organized crime kingpins – but now they're being used against state-legal marijuana businesses
Rolling Stone (US)
Monday, August 28, 2017

Earlier this summer, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado decided that the "noxious odors" from a pot farm could be lowering nearby property values and creating a nuisance. The decision came out of a civil suit by the farm's neighbors under federal racketeering law, and could set a landmark precedent. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and this decision makes clear that private citizens can now circumvent state law and do what Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants but has yet to do: challenge the legitimacy of states and businesses participating in legalization.