Congressional Bill Call for Allowing MMJ in Assisting Housings in the Legal States

June 22, 2018

It is encouraging to see that marijuana-related issues have become a regular topic of discussion in Congress. In last week, a bill was presented on the Congressional floor to admit the failure of the war on drugs and now a provision has been introduced to allow cannabis in public and federally-assisted housing schemes in legal states.

The bill has been presented by a Democratic House Representative from DC, Eleanor Holmes Norton. At present, marijuana in all its forms (including medical grade) is prohibited in the spaces come under the Section 8 housing program and other public housing schemes.

The Bill is Named After a Patient  

Democratic House Representative from DC, Eleanor Holmes Norton - Image powered by Thehill.com

During the signing of the Bill, Sondra Battle, an MMJ patient from the District of Columbia was also present in Norton’s office. She lives in an assisted living and uses medical marijuana to treat her fibromyalgia. She along with other patients also founded a medical marijuana advocacy group DCMJ.

While signing the bill, Norton thanked Sondra and his fellows from DCMJ to bring the issue to her attention. To acknowledge the struggle of patients like Sondra, Norton has named the bill ‘Sondra Battle Cannabis Fair Use Act’.  

Norton says that the intent of the bill is to protect all those people who rely on medical cannabis for their treatments but live in housing schemes where it is not allowed. She thinks the federal laws should be molded to the reality of today where medical marijuana is used by hundreds and thousands of patients all across the country. 

It seems really absurd and draconian that a person can’t treat his/her illness because of the fear of eviction. Moreover, it doesn’t make any sense that a person living in the state where MMJ is legal can’t use it at all. 

If Norton’s bill is passed by the Congress and becomes a part of the law, then people living in assisted livings will be able to consume medical grade marijuana without any apprehension. However, the rules pertinent to tobacco smoking will apply to the use of marijuana.  

Sondra Battle, an MMJ patient from the District of Columbia - Image powered by Twitter.com

It is worth mentioning that DCMJ played a key role in campaigning for Ballot Initiative 71 through which possession of up to two ounces of marijuana and domestic cultivation of three cannabis plants became legal in DC. These days the group is working and fighting for MMJ users and cultivators in the District of Columbia.  

According to the group, around 20,000 people live in assisted livings in the district and they can’t use marijuana even after its legalization. Residents of these housings can’t consume MMJ indoors because of a constant fear of getting evicted from the landlords. Neither do they can use it outside because consumption of marijuana in public spaces is not allowed. 

Norton introduced the bill in the lower house of Congress on Tuesday. Right now, it is under consideration of the house committee on financial services and we will be able to know the fate of this bill in a couple of weeks. 

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