Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jan 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Nancy Lofholm

NO POT IN FEDERAL HOUSING

Policy Blocks Use in Subsidized Projects, but Official Says That Could
Change

Coloradans who live in the nearly 300 federally subsidized housing
projects in the state are blocked by federal regulations from using
marijuana in their homes in spite of state legalization-but that
could be changing at some point.

"In the next couple of years, we are probably going to see new
policies. This is still so new. We are still trying to see what should
happen," said Eric Garcia, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development project manager in Denver "In the meantime, we have to
adhere to policy."

That policy means no pot smoking or consuming pot in any other manner
in housing projects built and operated with federal funds or insured
by HUD. That goes for medical marijuana as well as
recreational.

"I'm optimistic it is going to change," said Mark Silverstein,
director of the Colorado Chapter of the American Civil Liberties
Union. He called it "overkill" to evict someone from housing for using
medical or recreational pot.

While they wait for change, some residents of low-income housing
projects say they feel discriminated against because they aren't free
to enjoy the benefits of marijuana legalization.

"So West Jeffco (Jefferson County) wealthy people get to 'use,' but
those of us with lower incomes get to 'stifle,' " Richard Thornton, a
resident of the federally subsidized Redwood Village Apartments in
Arvada, wrote in an e-mail to The Denver Post.

Even though the federal policy is clear that marijuana is still
considered an illegal drug and, as such, is prohibited in public
housing, whether that policy will result in evictions in the wake of
state legalization may be piecemeal.

Garcia and other HUD officials are publicly adhering to the federal
hard line that any form of marijuana on HUD properties is illegal. But
project managers say there is sometimes a wink and nod involved.
Garcia said he doesn't know of evictions for marijuana use because
that would be carried out by individual property managers.

"We have never evicted anyone for marijuana," said Lori Rosendahl,
chief operating officer of the Grand Valley Housing Authority that
oversees numerous HUD and non-HUD housing projects in the Grand
Junction area. "The guidance we have been getting on our HUD projects
has been along the lines of, 'It's legal there, so temper policy with
some common sense.' " See page 13

She said her agency would not consider evicting someone for marijuana
use unless it was part of an egregious string of violations or itwas
bothering the neighbors.

She said, as with federal projects, commonsense prevails when
administering her own agency's policies.

Residents of Redwood Village Apartments recently received a written no
marijuana policy.

Thornton said he is angry about that policy because he sees it as a
rights violation even though he said he does not use marijuana.

"In light of the federal government, as per the Attorney General,
saying that the federal government would not interfere with Colorado
legalization, that appears to be a lie," Thornton wrote.

Kris Hermes, with the national Americans for Safe Access social
justice group, said he is hearing that the Obama administration is
already setting up meetings to come up with new policies that will
address the dichotomy in public housing rules regarding marijuana. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D