"Will my uncle be allowed to grow his medicine?" (to rent, how much)

[.highnlite]

We found a small plantation of herb on the ranch, turns out the dork boyfriend of one of my daughter's planted it. Because of fears of what can be done to the land owner, I went ballistic. The boy was banned from our property. I called the sheriff, they pulled the plants.

daughter got rid of the dork soon after.

Chutzpah, coming onto our land as a guest, and risking our property...

[AlanDog]

I have an ad on craigslist now (6 acres 15 from chico) and in the past about half the people who respond want to grow pot. I think pot should be legal myself, the problem is that tenants/growers have to protect their plot, which means being armed--it just sets up a bad situation. My neighbors are growing 'legally' and I have no problem with it. I actually sat down with one prospective tenant a couple years ago and had him show me documentation of his medical condition. Basically, I didn't buy it. I'm not doubting he had a medical condition, but the amount of pot he wanted to grow was way beyond what he could personally use, I just didn't buy it. He had a new 4wd pickup worth 30k and he worked at a video store... hmmm...

This morning I get an email from a self-described 'cannabis activist' and he is threatening me with a lawsuit for simply posting a 'discriminatory' statement in my ad (no pot growing). I took the time to compose a long email response to explain my position and unfortunately, his angry responses to my email shows he is just bent on "making me an example" --his words.

I've spent the day doing web searches and I don't think the guy has a case, since it still is a federal crime to grow marijuana plants. But there really is a conflict between laws that say landlords must make accommodations to people with medical conditions and landlords cannot knowingly allow illegal activity. My take is that as long as it remains a federal crime then a landlord can discriminate. Thoughts?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by AlanDog

This morning I get an email from a self-described 'cannabis activist' and he is threatening me with a lawsuit for simply posting a 'discriminatory' statement in my ad (no pot growing). I took the time to compose a long email response to explain my position

You shouldn't have even wasted your time. Pot growers are not a protected class. No different as saying "no pets".

[AlanDog]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

You shouldn't have even wasted your time. Pot growers are not a protected class. No different as saying "no pets".

Well, it is a little different in that it is a medical condition, right? These prospective tenants have doctors prescriptions. It is a disability. Reading my nolo press book 'LL/tenant rights', it really gets into some contradictions--you can't discriminate against alcoholics, it turns out! It's a medical condition!

[Youthanasia]

Originally Posted by AlanDog

Well, it is a little different in that it is a medical condition, right? These prospective tenants have doctors prescriptions. It is a disability. Reading my nolo press book 'LL/tenant rights', it really gets into some contradictions--you can't discriminate against alcoholics, it turns out! It's a medical condition!

AFAIK there is no such thing as a doctor prescription for marijuana, only a recommendation of it's use.

I looked and sure enough, on the norml.org page

Q: May physicians legally prescribe marijuana?
A: No. Although a handful of states have legislation authorizing doctors to prescribe marijuana (These laws were all passed in the late 1970s and early 1980s in expectation that the federal government would eventually reschedule marijuana.), doctors in these states may not legally do so without violating federal law. Federal policy dictates that physician who prescribes marijuana or other Schedule I drugs to a patient may be stripped of his or her federal license to prescribe drugs and prosecuted. In addition, physicians will not prescribe marijuana because there are no legal state supply sources from which a patient could attain the drug. Q: May physicians legally recommend marijuana therapy to a patient?
A: Yes. On September 7, 2000, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled in Conant v. McCaffrey that federal authorities may not sanction doctors who recommend marijuana to patients.

[AlanDog]

Originally Posted by Youthanasia

AFAIK there is no such thing as a doctor prescription for marijuana, only a recommendation of it's use.

I looked and sure enough, on the norml.org page

Sorry, my mistake. This doesn't resolve the legal issue here, though. A prospective tenant has a medical condition, can I discriminate against him/her? Apparently there is no case law that strictly defines what landlords can do, although even the pro-cannabis sites suggest to work things out with a landlords before growing on a rental property. But apparently the guy harassing me has nothing better to do with his life.

[Fontucky]

You're not discriminating against him using the stuff for his condition, just growing it. You can't discriminate against an alcoholic, but you don't want him setting up a still at your rental.

[AlanDog]

Yes, I agree, especially since growing pot is a federal crime--you can't both accommodate someone's disability and conform to federal law. The American disabilities act is a federal law as well. This guy has sent me ten or so ranting emails so far in the past day, I'm just not going to respond to him, he is obviously immune to logic. If he wants to sue me, he'll have to go through the trouble of actually doing it.

I did some web searches and searched the county court records online, and the guy is a convicted felon, he had five pounds of pot and a gun with him when he traded some pot for a guitar. He responded to a CL ad for a guitar saying he could pay with pot, and the seller was a junior high teacher who called the cops. The funny thing is that one of the main reasons I don't want pot growers is that having plants in a remote rural area requires that you guard them, meaning not only do you have to have a loaded gun, but that every time you see or hear someone, you grab it and have a confrontation with whoever. It's a legal liability and just not something I want to invite onto my property.

So here is this convicted felon who needed a loaded gun to carry pot telling me in ranting emails that guns aren't necessary and my worries are unfounded.... also, he is ranting that the federal government has never seized a property, but in fact he himself ran a cannabis club at a location that was shut down by the feds threatening his landlord with seizure. So here is this guy with first-hand experience with all that I don't want to bring to my property and he is trying to convince me I'm being unreasonable!

[CAVA1990]

Is a medical condition always considered a disability? I don't think so.

[AlanDog]

Well, just playing devil's advocate (on myself), if I have chronic pain that disables me and pot works to relieve it, do I have a case against a landlord for not letting me grow pot? Shouldn't a judge see growing 1 plant on 6 acres a 'reasonable accommodation'?

In fact if such a person really existed, I probably would let him grow pot on my property, he'd just have to prove it was real.

Most of these 'legal' growers are profiteers: they have 4 recommendations and are growing 16 plants, and that is $16,000 or more. It is their job to grow pot, they don't have 'real' jobs. The lure of easy money. Fine with me, just not on my property.