Your next Willamette Valley wine might have even more “grassy” notes; that is, unless the Momtazi family prevails in their nuisance lawsuit against their new marijuana-farming neighbor. So far, the legal winds seem to be favoring the Momtazi family, which recently convinced a Yamhill County, Oregon, judge to deny their neighbors’ motion to dismiss. Yet, the hook here is less the legal issues – which are mostly straightforward – and more the subject matter. As new technologies develop (or old industries come out into the open), old legal principles are applied to often unexpected situations. So it is here in the Willamette, where long-standing nuisance law will serve as a buzzkill for either the weed or the wine farmer.

Source: Laura M. Holson, Pot Farmer to Neighbors: Chill Out, Neighbors: No, NY Times, Sept. 26, 2017

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