Won't you NOT be my neighbour?

Oregon is a Medical Marijuana state. I don’t necessarily disagree with it, honestly. Well, I think more aptly stated, I'm a Libertarian; and I think people should be allowed to make decisions about what they put in their body on their own, and if it’s a drug, then so be it. As long as their decisions don't adversely affect me or my property, I don’t care what people do. They are ultimately responsible for themselves.

However, this situation allows people to grow cannabis in their homes. Now here's where I have a problem. My neighbor is a grower. He has a state-issued card, which allows him to grow marijuana. Ever since he's started doing it, we've noticed an increasingly potent scent of pot hanging over the area like a heavy stinky cloud.… I could live with that as long as it wasn't really intrusive all the time. But then cars started coming and going at all hours. I'm fairly convinced he's selling. I spoke to an officer with the State Police who checked on him, and the neighbor's plants and product were within the legal limits in quantity and volume… so the officer couldn't really do anything, despite the growing list of cars that are coming and going. Still, we sucked it up…. The worst side effect of his night-sales; the dogs bark at 1AM at customers driving up for a purchase. Now, however, my neighbor he is felling trees all over his property to admit light so that he can start growing it outside. Our once shaded, private backyard is now exposed entirely to his clearing.

It's going to reek. It's going to bring in even more questionable activities...like plants being stolen in the middle of the night by God knows-who. His little grow-garden will be right outside our bedroom window. You just *know* that growing it outdoors is going to invite all sorts of additional chaos, and I am intolerant of chaos in a place where I expect quiet, peaceful enjoyment. My home.

I can't control his cutting down his own trees, no matter how much it irks me. Why move into a forest environment just to clear the land? If you want clearings, move to Sandy or Boring. It really irritates me because trees are wonderful for your energy bottom line. In summer; their leafy shade saves you in cooling dollars, and in winter, their bare branches allow the sun to beam through and save you on heating dollars. In summer, our back yard is (was) always at least 10 degrees cooler than it is in town. It's always refreshing to drive onto our shaded street after baking in the valley, to find it fresh at home. Our extremely shady backyard is always a respite to work in during the summer, but now it is almost fully exposed on the west side. We planted a curly willow, which grows fast and has a shallow root system; I'm hoping it will make it to compensate for the huge void of trees now… I think that's what really set me off… when he started chopping down trees. Before that, I could deal with him.

In true pot-head style, my neighbor is slow about what he does. He's been felling trees and chopping them up in spurts; spreading his chicken-litter fertilizer at his leisure with his village-idiot friend whose brain-cells have been decimated by booze and other substances I'm sure (the man opens his mouth and stupid just comes pouring out). Now a backhoe straddles our property line, it's been there for days. I wish I could drive it into his house with the bucket sticking out like a huge fist.

What concerns me is… if we decide we want to sell my house; how adversely will having Lazy-P Pot Ranch next door affect the sale? How many thousands will be knocked off the sales price in order to lure in a buyer willing to overlook the pong of cannabis radiating from the neighbouring property, or the rumble of engines and shine of car lights at all hours of the night? What buyer wouldn't visualize a spate of crimes or people breaking into their home or garage, drawn to their property by the crop next door?

How does one quantify that? And who does one go to? I called the Oregon pot-board today and the lady on the phone passed the buck very aptly, obviously versed in responding to my sort of call. "Oh, we have no measures that require us to answer these sorts of questions or can we offer you any solutions or answers. You might want to speak to the state’s property rights department or an attorney."

Seeing how some areas of California are being ruined by the growing industry (read a few of the posts in this blog: http://news.humcounty.com/index.html to see what I mean), I'm worried. Worried that my neighbourhood is going to be ruined by what is beginning as a flagrant pot-growing jerk.

I feel powerless. How do I insure that the quiet enjoyment of my own property is secured? It's why I bought it. I'm so irritated.

ANYWAY... I'll stop grumping. :::sigh::: Here are pics of my little tiles. They're a bit messy in the lines, but I'll get the hang of it sooner or later. I have a plate waiting for me too with a gentleman crow (I like gentlemen crows).. I'll post a pic when I pick it up. :) have a lovely long weekend.