Lets start with some of the missing facts and a different point of view.

1) Proper notice was delivered prior to the unit inspection.
2) The property is a multi-family apartment community.
3)She entered into written agreement not to possess drugs on the property.
4) She was not not required and choose not to ask if it would be a concern to us despite the contract she had signed.
5) She received a standard New Mexico form violation notice. We don’t like it either. She was never expected to meet its time demand but it is required to proceed in court where she could defend her right to keep her apartment.
6) We support Medical Marijuana but have concerns when it is used in a dense multi family environment, near families with children and others who do not wish to be living close enough to identify its pungent aroma.
7)We believe that property owners have the right to enforce reasonable rules including restrictions on smoking.
8)We understand the laws under which we operate and the need to make reasonable accommodations.
9)We would like to see some reasonable understanding on the part of medical marijuana advocates that use in some places may be inappropriate. What people do in their own home is one thing but what they do in a rented apartment in close proximity to others in violation of their contract is another.
10)We believe that landlords who permit medical marijuana to be grown or used on their property should be protected from Federal and State laws which put their property at risk of seizure and forfeiture.

These are new laws and they need to be fine tuned to consider unforeseen issues such as property owners rights and appropriateness around children.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

No power for legal pot garden

City housing cuts hydro to HIV patient’s apartment

By KEVIN CONNOR
The Toronto Sun

William Palmer has a licence from Health Canada to grow medical marijuana to help him deal with his HIV — but that didn’t stop the fire department and the city’s social housing provider from calling his garden a safety risk and turning off his electricity.

That was three weeks ago and Palmer has had no electricity to refrigerate his HIV medications in his apartment in a Toronto Community Housing (TCH) building on Dundas St. E.

“A year ago I asked my landlord for permission and consent to set up my operation. I put my Health Canada licence with my application but I never got a response,” he said. “I knew sooner or later someone would make a stink about it but I never thought I would have my power turned off.”

Medical marijuana can relieve the nausea caused by HIV medications, increase a patient’s appetite and help with chronic pain. Palmer, 44, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1997, had a marijuana crop of 25 small plants.

‘LIVING IN THE DARK’

His operation was set up by a professional electrician so he said there is no safety risk.

“My plants are dead and I’m living in the dark,” he said.

On Sept. 23 Palmer was in the unit next door, occupied by his father, when he says he heard the landlord and firefighters enter his apartment.

“I had no notice from (TCH) housing that they would be entering my apartment. I heard them going in and I was paranoid and couldn’t move,” Palmer said.

“When they turned off the electricity, they put my health at risk. At least, I can store my drugs in my dad’s fridge.”

Social housing officials will look into the situation but won’t discuss specifics, citing privacy laws, according to TCH spokesman Jeff Ferrier.

Palmer’s lawyer, John Norquay, with the HIV and AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario, wrote to housing officials, noting his client is legally allowed to produce marijuana.

Norquay told housing officials they have a legal duty under the Human Rights Code to accommodate Palmer’s disabilities, in this case, HIV.

Contact: torsun.editor@sunmedia.ca