Pubdate: Sun, 11 Apr 2010
Source: Kalamazoo Gazette (MI)
Copyright: 2010 Kalamazoo Gazette
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/vggfBDch
Website: http://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/588
Author: Chris Killian
Referenced: Michigan's law http://drugsense.org/url/8mvr7sW8
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+medical+marijuana
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

DEBATE OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA COULD AFFECT HOUSING

KALAMAZOO - The federal government has told property managers of 
federally subsidized units they can evict tenants who use or possess 
marijuana - including those who use medical marijuana legally under 
Michigan law.

In response, a Kalamazoo-based property management firm sent a memo 
on March 17 to more than 6,000 residents of its federally subsidized 
units, some of which are for people who are elderly or disabled. It 
said that if they were found "smoking, growing or in possession of 
marijuana on the property or in your apartment, regardless of medical 
prescription, you will be given a 24-hour eviction notice," the first 
step in an eviction process.

The issue creates a new gray area between state and federal 
governments where marijuana laws are concerned.

The memo, obtained by the Kalamazoo Gazette, was sent by Medallion 
Management Inc., which owns six rental facilities in Kalamazoo, 
including the Rickman House in downtown, three in Portage and 12 
around Southwest Michigan. Medallion's Web site says the company 
operates in "over 94 communities providing rental homes for 
approximately 6,400 families and individuals throughout Michigan, 
Indiana and Wisconsin."

Michigan law allows for the use of medical marijuana for residents 
with a qualifying condition. But the federal government considers all 
uses of marijuana to be illegal - even by those who have 
recommendations to use medical marijuana and live in states that have 
laws allowing it. "We have to follow the law given to us," said Scott 
Beltz, vice president of Medallion. "We're kind of caught in the middle."

Beltz said Medallion received an e-mail from the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's Office of General Counsel in early March that gave the 
agency's opinion on the use of medical marijuana in federally 
subsidized housing. Medallion gets its federal money through the 
USDA's Rural Development division, Beltz said.

The USDA memo states that marijuana - whether for medicinal uses or 
not - is illegal in the eyes of the federal government and that 
federal law "pre-empts state law."

The memo also provides "enforcement actions" property owners can take 
when illegal drugs are found, including terminating the lease and 
denying entry into the dwelling until the person "agrees not to 
commit drug violations in the future and has completed, or is in the 
process of completing, drug-related counseling."

The memo further states that current regulations establish that 
landlords are responsible for monitoring illegal drug use. Any 
actions taken by landlords should be done in "a non-discriminatory 
way," it says.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to illegal drugs," Beltz said.

Does that apply to medical marijuana?

Said Beltz, "I don't know. It appears so."

The firm does not have a policy on how it would investigate tenants 
who are suspected of possessing or using medical marijuana.

Greg Francisco, executive director of the Michigan Medical Marijuana 
Association, said, "The federal government is wrong on this issue. 
Our state says that medical marijuana is legal. The compassionate 
choice is the hard choice. Don't evict these people."

He said landlords who would give an eviction notice to those who use 
medical marijuana would be "cowards hiding behind policy," adding 
that the decision is a "moral one."

Up to Discretion

Landlords have some discretion on whether to enforce the federal rule.

Although there is lease language that prohibits illegal drug use in 
federally subsidized housing units, enforcement is "up to the 
property owner," said James Turner, director of the state's USDA 
Rural Development program.

"I don't have an opinion on the memo they (Medallion) sent out, but 
landlords have discretion in these cases," he said.

Turner said he was not aware of other property management firms in 
the state that have sent similar memos to residents.

The state does not have any policy language on the issue, said Mary 
Lou Keenon, spokeswoman for the Michigan Housing Development Authority.

"I don't know how they are going to do that at this point," she said 
of the possibility of eviction. "We may have language on that in the 
future, but right now we don't."

Federal Protection

In October 2009, the Obama administration told the U.S. Justice 
Department that federal funds should not be used to prosecute those 
using marijuana for medical purposes who live in states that have 
medical-marijuana laws.

In the memo to federal prosecutors in the 14 states that have medical 
marijuana laws, the Justice Department stated that it was committed 
to the "efficient and rational" use of resources, and that 
prosecuting medical-marijuana patients who are in "clear and 
unambiguous compliance" with state laws didn't meet that standard.

John Targowski, a Kalamazoo lawyer who has handled multiple cases 
involving medical marijuana and has advised the Kalamazoo Coalition 
for Pragmatic Cannabis Laws, said medical-marijuana patients should 
be approached lightly with regard to the possibility of eviction.

"Obviously, marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of the federal 
government," he said. "Evicting a person who is using marijuana for 
nonmedical reasons is one thing, but to evict a patient operating 
under state law is another."

Similar Cases

In October, Lori Montroy, an Elk Rapids resident who has been 
treating effects of her stage-4 brain cancer with medical marijuana, 
was told by the property manager that she would be evicted from her 
federally subsidized Elk Rapids Apartments unit after apartment staff 
found marijuana plants growing in a locked closet in her apartment.

Montroy, 49, had a state-issued identification card indicating she 
was a legal user of medical marijuana. Still, Montroy was told she 
had to leave her apartment by Jan. 1 based on federal law that 
declares marijuana illegal. To date, she is still living there as her 
case is being appealed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

"No one deserves to be put out in the cold or on the streets for 
treating an illness (with medical marijuana)," said Rana Elmir, 
director of communications for the ALCU of Michigan. "Landlords are 
not compelled to evict if a person using medical marijuana is 
operating within the law. They are given full discretion to treat 
patients with care and allow them to stay in their homes."

Beltz said Medallion has sought evictions for tenants who were using 
illegal drugs in the past, but "didn't know" how the firm would 
enforce the federal rule on medical marijuana at its properties, 
adding that "we don't have a policy on that."

To date, no resident has been evicted for possessing or using medical 
marijuana, he said. "We don't have a personal position on medical 
marijuana," he said. "I don't make money on empty units."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake