Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
“I live in Oregon where the growing of medical marijuana is legal by state law. Our neighbor has a large farm adjacent and behind our property. Because we have a mutual access road, people are knocking at our door all the time looking for the neighbor, who does not actually live at his farm. We are not in favor of his line of work and are tired of being bothered by his associates and have put up a sign announcing the marijuana farm and directions on the sign of how to get to it. Do you feel we are over stepping our bounds by doing this? The neighbor has not tried to hide the fact that he has a pot farm and therefore, I would think that the confidentiality issue would be a moot point. We know that the sign may be an invasion of their privacy, but the constant knocking on our door, the constant gun fire and the incredible smell that emanates from the plants during the summer and fall are also an invasion of our privacy.”
For better or worse, growing marijuana may be legal under state law but it’s still illegal under Federal law, so the situation is somewhat more complicated than you put forward. That being said, I’m not sure how a slightly different sign (“this is not the marijuana farm”) would be an invasion of anyone’s privacy.
The smell is an interesting point you make. Smells can be an actionable nuisance, if you wanted to explore that possible claim against your neighbor. However, if you’re living in a rural enough area, the smell of other plants might be expected and therefore not considered actionable. It’s something you could explore with a local attorney.
Of greater concern to me is the gunfire. Is firing off weapons permissible where you are? The danger is obvious, even apart from the annoyance of the noise.
In many ways, both legal and practical, this is a difficult situation. Any chance you could talk to the neighbor about at least mitigating some of these issues, before you resort to legal action?
