Question to Minneapolis/St. Paul Residents re: Marijuana use/Eviction (Kent: apartment, buying)

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by Mr. Badexample

Thanks for the comments, I'm less concerned than I was! My wife is from the Midwest but I've never lived anyplace outside the NE states (NY/MA/CT). We're professionals in our thirties, not college kids looking to throw parties, I'm just concerned that the culture may be different compared to NE where we pretty much live and let live. Screwing over somebody because they smoke pot would be considered a very low act of treachery here, I'm glad to hear that it's not been elevated into a civic virtue in the Midwest! The laws and some of the accounts I've read online gave me pause.

The people here pretty much have a 'live and let live' attitude on most things, too--- it's a pretty socially liberal place.

And I agree that a landlord has better things to do than to go snooping. The 24 hour notice is on the state's standard lease, so if that what you are signing, that is what you will get. My qualification for this advice is that I've been renting for the past several years here and have signed many of them.

However, read your lease, because landlords can sneak anything into it, especially if they write their own.

If they caught you with it, I doubt that they would evict you immediately. As others mentioned, you'd probably be spoken to about it, especially if it's causing any kind of nuisance for other residents. But the rule of thumb is that landlords need your money more than they need to get on the good side of MPD by ratting out residents, so you should get a pretty generous leash on that type of thing.

If it were a more serious offence, they'd get rid of you. But just smoking pot in private and not causing a problem for other residents? I highly doubt it.

You should be able to get a pretty good read on your landlords when you meet them, and ask around from the neighbors, because they're a valuable resource. I'd actually be surprised if there wasn't some other, similar statute on the books in NY. You probably just don't know about it, because landlords don't look for excuses to enforce it. The same would hold true here.

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

This is a very good point [edited to add] as is audadvnc's post that I just noticed above, and something us Americans (including myself in this thread) too easily forget. As much as I'm opposed to the prohibition of marijuana in the US, there is a level of social irresponsibility that most American users of illicit drugs (regardless of whether or not they should be 'illicit') seem to have no regard for. If I were an 'aware' drug user, I would have a hard time justifying my small role in the violence and chaos brought about by Mexican (and other) drug cartels right now. Also, when I used to live across the street from a drug dealer (not sure what all they were selling, but assumed it was a combination of hard and soft drugs), it bothered me to no end how many people had no respect for my street/neighborhood as they drove in from other areas (often times looking very professional and driving nice cars) and sat idling in their cars while making purchases in broad daylight, and I had no qualms/inner conflicts about dialing them in when this happened.

That's why some of us choose not to do it. I've met so many 'social justice' types who did all of the cliche's-- shop at the co-op, ride their bikes to work....then they'd go out and buy pot.

The marijuana trade is no doubt less violent than the trade of, say, cocaine....but unless you are growing it yourself, you have no idea where it's coming from, who was implicated in it getting to you, who suffered as a result. Why should somebody else have to suffer so that you can enjoy an illicit drug? The hypocrisy of this coming from a number of people who were self-proclaimed 'peace advocates' baffled me, so I gave it up.

Then again, I don't buy all of my food from the co-op, so maybe I don't have anything to complain about, either....

[Drewcifer]

I am kind of surprised by some of the responses here because in real life it doesn't seem like anybody in Minneapolis cares if you smoke pot. I am in my 40s so I don't smoke it anymore but back when I did I never had any problems. I grew my own, all of my landlords knew but they never cared. I think people should be encouraged to grow their own rather than buy it on the black market but unfortunately the law is pretty harsh towards personal consumption cultivation.

My building has a rider in the lease saying that you can be evicted for drugs but I still smell it at least once a week, it seems like people usually wait until later in the night.

[west336]

Originally Posted by Mr. Badexample

Hi there everyone,

My wife and I are thinking of leaving NYC for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in the near future but I've been doing some research about the rental market and came across some stories about people who've been evicted because of their marijuana use - I researched the law and it seems that not only does any sort of drug use void the lease, but it doesn't have to be sale or production, simple possession is sufficient apparently.

Also, it seems (I may be wrong) that the law states that a LL is OBLIGATED by law to evict recreational drug users or else the state can take possession of his property, he can be sued, bad stuff. Neither my wife nor I have a criminal record or have touched a hard drug in our life but do enjoy the occasional puff, how worried should we be about this? In NYC it's generally accepted that if you're doing something like that in private, minding you own business and not stinking up a public space you're pretty much entitled to be left alone, even the cops generally accept this logic. Are we in for some serious culture shock? Are most LL's and tenants snitches? Any personal experiences or opinions are welcome - if you want to flame me go ahead, I won't respond to those posts, I'm genuinely interested in honest replies. Thanks in advance.

This is very paranoid -- you need to hit it!

If you enjoy the "occassional puff" and you get caught, you have to be one of the stupidet people on the planet! It's not like that at all. It's in the books to keep people from being too liberal about smoking weed, like they can be in some states (particularly West). Just smoke weed like you would drink a beer if you were 16, and you'll enjoy it so much more!

Cheers!

[west336]

Originally Posted by srsmn

That's why some of us choose not to do it. I've met so many 'social justice' types who did all of the cliche's-- shop at the co-op, ride their bikes to work....then they'd go out and buy pot.

The marijuana trade is no doubt less violent than the trade of, say, cocaine....but unless you are growing it yourself, you have no idea where it's coming from, who was implicated in it getting to you, who suffered as a result. Why should somebody else have to suffer so that you can enjoy an illicit drug? The hypocrisy of this coming from a number of people who were self-proclaimed 'peace advocates' baffled me, so I gave it up.

Then again, I don't buy all of my food from the co-op, so maybe I don't have anything to complain about, either....

MOST marijuana in this country comes from.......AMERICA. In fact, most of it comes from Kentucky (says the History channel -- my source for trivial data).

[StevenE2]

I know plenty of people who smoke bud everyday in their rental units. None of them seem to have a problem with the landlord, or other people snitching.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by west336

MOST marijuana in this country comes from.......AMERICA. In fact, most of it comes from Kentucky (says the History channel -- my source for trivial data).

There's a thriving trade in northern California, too. Mexican drug rings are involved in much of it. It's led to a lot of problems. I don't care if it's grown in the US or not -- as long as it's illegal, buying pot is in one way or another contributing to an underground criminal network that is hurting a lot of people.

I wouldn't complain about a neighbor smoking in their own place, though. Now if they're dealing it out of their home, that's a different story.

[Camden Northsider]

I know US production is on the rise, but from what I've read the amount grown in the US isn't a large/majority percentage of the overall consumption. Knke's probably right that most importing to MN likely comes from Canada (and brings up some other good points about social responsibility), but reports I've read- which could be outdated now, not sure- still point to much of the cocaine AND marijuana consumed in the US coming from Central (Mexico)/South (Colombia) America on boats. Growing up in Sioux Falls in the 90s, some of us were fairly aware of networks tracing back to Florida/California (and likely places of origination prior to landing on US soil).

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

There's a thriving trade in northern California, too. Mexican drug rings are involved in much of it. It's led to a lot of problems. I don't care if it's grown in the US or not -- as long as it's illegal, buying pot is in one way or another contributing to an underground criminal network that is hurting a lot of people.

I wouldn't complain about a neighbor smoking in their own place, though. Now if they're dealing it out of their home, that's a different story.

Most weed in the part of the country comes from suburban grow operations. The suburban grow operation produces pounds, that get sold and then broken down into ounces, that get broken down and sold in half, quarter or eighth ounces. It basically goes from one guy, to another, to another to you. From Lakeville. I still don't get where the 'criminal activity' is involved. I dont live in Mendicino County, NorCal, SoCal or Texas.

Suburban pot ring is busted | StarTribune.com

[uptown_urbanist]

Because like Camden, I, too, have seen what happens to a neighborhood when people come in to buy their illegal drugs. And do YOU want to live next to a grow house? I certainly don't.

I don't have a problem with marijuana itself, but I do have a problem with the fact that as long as it's illegal those who spend their money on it are supporting an industry that has a lot of negative ripple effects that too many end users are conveniently ignoring. As long as its illegal, the distribution is going to be controlled by criminals, and their criminal activity often goes a long way beyond just the growing of some plants. (something Rybak took on last year, by the way, when he accused white middle class Minnesotans of contributing to violence and gangs in troubled city neighborhoods.)