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Wedding Woes

I may be evicted for being a non-smoking pot user

Dear Prudence, 
I have some serious health problems and the painkillers that help me go about my day make me violently nauseous. I’ve tried tons of different medications each with worse side effects. I’ve finally found relief with medical marijuana. I can play with my kids again! I can go out to eat or take a walk! The world has expanded beyond my house once more. My landlord recently called me to inform me my neighbor had complained about the smell of marijuana coming from my apartment and since my lease states the building is nonsmoking, I could face eviction. The problem is, I don’t smoke or even vaporize it. I buy premade edibles. There is no smell. The only way my neighbor could know about any of it is if he opened my mail or went through my trash. I have no idea what to do. Do I try to explain? File a police report? If I’m evicted, my kids and I would be homeless.

—Smoke but No Fire

Re: I may be evicted for being a non-smoking pot user

  • If in an area where marijuana is legal for medical and she has the valid prescriptions, she shouldn't have any issues with explaining to landlord that she is legally using it for medical purposes and not smoking in the apartment. There still could be issues with landlord, but less likely to have major problems if she's not doing anything illegal.

    If she is not in area with legal medical use, there's probably little that can be done.  I'd definitely try to explain to the landlord.  If it's a corporation or property management company, it's less likely that they will be understanding than if it's an individual, but it may be worth explaining.  But, there is probably also a clause in the lease stating that illegal substances aren't allowed in the units either, which would be more grounds for eviction, even without smoking. All your hopes would lie on an understanding landlord. 

    I know several people that use marijuana products for medical use.  Many of them choose to use oil products, because they get the medical benefits without getting the high.  I've debated going this route for my chronic pain, and live in a medical marijuana state, but haven't pursued it as of yet.  I also have a friend that spent a year in jail because they crossed a city border and got pulled over with their medical marijuana and the jurisdiction didn't allow it. So, I'm wary to go this route until it is more widely accepted or the feds allow it or they just come up with more straightforward laws about it.  I just don't want to risk the possible legal issues. Although, if I get to a point where other pain management options aren't working, it may be worth the risk.

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  • If in an area where marijuana is legal for medical and she has the valid prescriptions, she shouldn't have any issues with explaining to landlord that she is legally using it for medical purposes and not smoking in the apartment. There still could be issues with landlord, but less likely to have major problems if she's not doing anything illegal.

    If she is not in area with legal medical use, there's probably little that can be done.  I'd definitely try to explain to the landlord.  If it's a corporation or property management company, it's less likely that they will be understanding than if it's an individual, but it may be worth explaining.  But, there is probably also a clause in the lease stating that illegal substances aren't allowed in the units either, which would be more grounds for eviction, even without smoking. All your hopes would lie on an understanding landlord. 

    I know several people that use marijuana products for medical use.  Many of them choose to use oil products, because they get the medical benefits without getting the high.  I've debated going this route for my chronic pain, and live in a medical marijuana state, but haven't pursued it as of yet.  I also have a friend that spent a year in jail because they crossed a city border and got pulled over with their medical marijuana and the jurisdiction didn't allow it. So, I'm wary to go this route until it is more widely accepted or the feds allow it or they just come up with more straightforward laws about it.  I just don't want to risk the possible legal issues. Although, if I get to a point where other pain management options aren't working, it may be worth the risk.

    Are you fucking kidding?!??! Unless s/he had like 40 lbs. of pot, that should be a ticket, a fine and a moving on with your life. That's nuts!

    Image result for someecard betting someone half your shit youll love them forever
  • If in an area where marijuana is legal for medical and she has the valid prescriptions, she shouldn't have any issues with explaining to landlord that she is legally using it for medical purposes and not smoking in the apartment. There still could be issues with landlord, but less likely to have major problems if she's not doing anything illegal.

    If she is not in area with legal medical use, there's probably little that can be done.  I'd definitely try to explain to the landlord.  If it's a corporation or property management company, it's less likely that they will be understanding than if it's an individual, but it may be worth explaining.  But, there is probably also a clause in the lease stating that illegal substances aren't allowed in the units either, which would be more grounds for eviction, even without smoking. All your hopes would lie on an understanding landlord. 

    I know several people that use marijuana products for medical use.  Many of them choose to use oil products, because they get the medical benefits without getting the high.  I've debated going this route for my chronic pain, and live in a medical marijuana state, but haven't pursued it as of yet.  I also have a friend that spent a year in jail because they crossed a city border and got pulled over with their medical marijuana and the jurisdiction didn't allow it. So, I'm wary to go this route until it is more widely accepted or the feds allow it or they just come up with more straightforward laws about it.  I just don't want to risk the possible legal issues. Although, if I get to a point where other pain management options aren't working, it may be worth the risk.

    Are you fucking kidding?!??! Unless s/he had like 40 lbs. of pot, that should be a ticket, a fine and a moving on with your life. That's nuts!

    I don't know all the details, but the little I've been told is total bullshit.  A lot of jurisdictions have downgrades pot to minor charges, but there are still some conservative places out there that totally nail you on it.  He just happened to be in the wrong jurisdiction.

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  • Hmmmm...I'm actually going to call "bull" on this letter.  There are just too many pieces that don't make logical sense:

    1)  Her neighbor contacted the landlord about a pot smell.  Even assuming true, I don't see many people caring enough to go to that extent.  Except the LW doesn't smoke pot.  So now she assumes her neighbor...went to her mailbox and snooped in it.  While I suppose not impossible, the vast majority of the population does not snoop in other people's mailboxes.

    2)  Now, based ONLY on one neighbor complaining about a pot smell, the landlord is threatening to evict her.  Yet the LL didn't even go visit her apartment?  Really?  I am a landlady and regularly frequent a real estate investing forum with 100s of landlords (and other types of RE investors).  I can guarantee that almost none of us would go to this length with such flimsy evidence.  Evictions are a huge PITA.  Finding new tenants is a huge PITA.

    If I have a tenant who is taking care of my place and paying their rent on time, I'd arrange a time to take a look at the apartment and make sure there is no evidence of smoke or a smell of smoke.  But that's about it. 

    Plus, I doubt there is a jurisdiction in this country who would grant a landlord an eviction because "the neighbor told me they smelled pot".  Even if the neighbor showed up to be a witness, it would still be a hard sell.

    3)  File a police report?  What?  WTF would the LW be filing a police report about?  Maybe she doesn't understand evictions don't happen out of thin air and she would have her day in court?  No idea.  Just so weird.

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  • Something is off. As always there is probably way more to the story than the writer has told, but there is no way that a landlord would evict over someone saying "we've smelled pot from that house". At our last house, the tenants next door smoked pot, had fights in the street at 2 am (that the cops showed up for), screamed and were generally loud, plus they made our front yard a mess with cigarette butts and leaves from trees they didn't maintain. None of that got them evicted, nothing really happened by the HOA or the landlord although I'm sure the HOA fined them. All of that to say, if the neighbor claiming they could smell pot would get the tenant evicted, there is more there.
  • Hmmmm...I'm actually going to call "bull" on this letter.  There are just too many pieces that don't make logical sense:

    1)  Her neighbor contacted the landlord about a pot smell.  Even assuming true, I don't see many people caring enough to go to that extent.  Except the LW doesn't smoke pot.  So now she assumes her neighbor...went to her mailbox and snooped in it.  While I suppose not impossible, the vast majority of the population does not snoop in other people's mailboxes.

    2)  Now, based ONLY on one neighbor complaining about a pot smell, the landlord is threatening to evict her.  Yet the LL didn't even go visit her apartment?  Really?  I am a landlady and regularly frequent a real estate investing forum with 100s of landlords (and other types of RE investors).  I can guarantee that almost none of us would go to this length with such flimsy evidence.  Evictions are a huge PITA.  Finding new tenants is a huge PITA.

    If I have a tenant who is taking care of my place and paying their rent on time, I'd arrange a time to take a look at the apartment and make sure there is no evidence of smoke or a smell of smoke.  But that's about it. 

    Plus, I doubt there is a jurisdiction in this country who would grant a landlord an eviction because "the neighbor told me they smelled pot".  Even if the neighbor showed up to be a witness, it would still be a hard sell.

    3)  File a police report?  What?  WTF would the LW be filing a police report about?  Maybe she doesn't understand evictions don't happen out of thin air and she would have her day in court?  No idea.  Just so weird.

    All of this.

    On another note - I have to wonder how old her kids are?    Certainly wouldn't be surprising if kids are smoking when she was not around.   Or in the hallways, outside the window, etc.    Too many variables to evict someone over a neighbor thinks they smell smoke from one place. 






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • yeah...
    the answer of "But we don't smoke.  No one smokes here" should suffice.  (because there's no need to explain about pot).

    When I helpe dmanage properties, that would mean the response was, "huh, ok.  Just making sure" and going over to both apts. on occasion and sniffing around (literally) a bit
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