Oklahoma Pot Farm struck with RICO by neighbor next door

A neighbor in Oklahoma was approaching new heights of snitching and filed a complaint under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act – the worst kind of lawsuit – after accusing a cannabis farm of growing too close to the property line.

Keith and Stephanie Grant filed a lawsuit, Grant et al. against Flying Bud Farms, LLC et al., in the Northern District of Oklahoma against Flying Bud Farms, LLC and numerous companies affiliated with Flying Bud Farms for allegedly illegal cultivation, distribution and sale of cannabis.

According to the lawsuit, the Grants live in rural Oklahoma next to Defendant Gary Bacon Jr.’s property.In 2019, Bacon and co-defendant Derek Wachob founded Flying Bud Farms to grow cannabis and supply local pharmacies, including their own D-Luxe Pharmacy.

While the lawsuit admits that the cannabis was grown “approximately less than 15 meters from the grants’ property line,” it claims the grants were forced “in the constant presence of an openly illegal marijuana grower and distributor “to live” in a building zone, which made it impossible for them to “enjoy” their home.

Practically everything about the cannabis operation bothered the neighbors next door. The Grants claim they don’t care about their home because of the bright lights at night, noisy industrial fans, changes in the floodplain that allegedly caused flooding on the Grants’ property, helicopter noise, and the branded smell of cannabis they believed was a can enjoy constant nuisance.

The federal extortion charge is no laughing matter. RICO lawsuits are the government’s “most powerful tool” in fighting criminal organizations, reports the New York Times. They are usually reserved for organized crime. RICO lawsuits illustrate the range of penalties the law can achieve – think three times or more of damages and legal fees. It can sink a business quickly.

Blackmail charges under RICO have been tested in several other similar cannabis-related cases, but have generally not been successful. It has done so since a June 2017 Colorado 10th District Court of Appeal ruling ruling that in the case of Safe Streets, a potential homebuyer would be less inclined to buy land next to an annex in Alliance vs. Alternative Holistic Healing, LLC. RICO lawsuits tend to lead to massive settlement agreements.

The grants claim that the business is illegal under federal law. However, Flying Bud Farms has been listed as a licensed breeder by the Oklahoma government under the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) since December 15, 2021. Because Oklahoma has no caps on medical cannabis licenses, there are a large number of legal surgeries. With the influx of medical cannabis surgeries, some neighbors are panicking.

They also allege that Flying Buds Farms is on land owned by Bacon’s stepmother and that the defendants have not received permits from the State Fire Marshall or the Creek County Floodplain Management Board to build their facilities.

Plaintiffs are suing for violation of 18 USC Sec. 1962 (C) and (D), harassment and property damage. Law Street Media reports that the grants are seeking “injunctive relief against defendants from further unlawful extortion activities, three times the damage caused by extortion activities, compensation for damages, abatement from harassment, levies, attorney’s fees and expenses, and other facilities.”

The plaintiffs are represented by GableGotwals, a law firm based in Tulsa.