HUD Will Continue Punishing Medical Marijuana Patients
Biden’s Administration is no friend to the cannabis community.
In a letter responding to US Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton’s (D- DC) May missive, Sarah Brundage, a representative for the US Housing and Urban Development (HUD), stated that HUD will continue to enforce its policies to deny housing and evict those who are consuming federally illegal substances, including medical marijuana.
Norton is invested in solutions as D.C. is one of the many states (that’s right, I said it) that legalized medical cannabis. It is exhilarating to see Norton acting in the interests of her constituency on such a key issue!
In addition to her letter, Norton is the sponsor of legislation meant to address this very issue. The Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act of 2021 has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
The cruelty of HUD’s stance is yet another instance where medical marijuana patients are paying the price for securing their medication. In one particularly infuriating case moving through the courts now, a Pennsylvania veteran fought a long battle in the courts to retain her Section 8 vouchers. She has won the latest round. At issue? Ms. Cease presented her medical marijuana card as part of her application materials for the Section 8 housing voucher program, to document her medication expenses. (Particularly frustrating for me is that recreational users do not have any pressure to disclose their use, so this is yet again a burden for only those in medical marijuana programs.) Mary’s chronic pain stemmed from her time serving in the Navy that left her with PTSD and metal rods in her back. This ultimately resulted in an honorable discharge. The sole reason that her application was denied was due to her “is that marijuana is illegal under federal law.”
Mary realized how her case would set a precedent for others, and used it to amplify the struggle that many veterans and medical marijuana patients face. Judith Cassel, Mary’s lawyer, said “If you’re low-income or indigent, you have to go on opioids. That’s what we’re trying to get people to understand. People shouldn’t have to choose between a roof over their head and their medication.”
Cassel took the case pro bono.
Because of what happened to Mary Cease and others like her, I am overjoyed to have people like Judith Cassel and Representative Norton take up this cause.
Creating an environment where prescribed cannabis use is discriminated against, and prescribed opiate use is not is inhumane.
Mary Cease won her case in February, and perhaps it was in Representative Norton’s mind when she penned her May communication to Marcia Fudge. In that letter, Representative Norton requested that Secretary Fudge, the head of the federal agency, use executive discretion to act in compliance with state laws when it came to handling cases regarding medical marijuana patients. The letter additionally requests that the department enact policies to treat smoking marijuana in federal housing the same as smoking tobacco. Norton requested that she receive a response by the end of June.
Unfortunately, none of the links to HUD’s response letter are operational. According to several sources around the event (see below), HUD’s November response was that they would behave “consistent with federal law.” It continued to explain, “HUD prohibits the admission of users of marijuana to HUD-assisted housing, including those who use medical marijuana.” HUD also plans to “continue to enforce policies that involve the “termination of the tenancy of any household.”
Horrible.
Norton’s own words on the matter, from her May letter to Secretary Fudge: “Individuals living in federally assisted housing should not be denied admission, or face eviction, for using a legal product.” I would hope we could expand that to include all housing (medical cannabis patients should be allowed to consume their medication in their homes, and many rentals do not allow that), but let’s start with what’s in federal control currently.
Story Sources:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3212/text?r=11&s=1