by Mark Tarses
In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215: The Medical Marijuana Initiative, making it legal for people with medical or psychological problems to buy, grow, and use marijuana. Some California cities, including Berkeley and San Francisco, went even further, and effectively decriminalized marijuana completely. There is a lot of misinformation about this subject floating around. Here are some real facts about marijuana laws and tenant liability that you should know.
Myth: California (and several other states) have decriminalized marijuana. As a result, few people are still being arrested for possession of marijuana.
Fact: In June, 2005; the U.S. Surpreme Court struck down California's Proposition 215. The Court ruled that Federal law supercedes all state and local marijuana laws; and the possession, cultivation, or use of marijuana is a crime under Federal law.
More people are being arrested on marijuana charges than ever before. Between 1991 and 2000, marijuana arrests in the U.S. almost tripled. In 1991, 270,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges. In 2000, marijuana arrests topped 750,000.
Myth: Most of the people who get arrested on marijuana charges are growers and dealers. The government isn't going after individual marijuana smokers.
Fact: 85% of the people arrested for violating marijuana laws are charged with personal use or possession for personal use. Only 15% are charged with cultivation, transportation, sale, or possession for sale. On February 14, 1997; Ted Tuk, the director of the Berkeley (California) Rx. Cannabis Grower's Collective was arrested for possession of 1 gram of marijuana. That's only 1/30th ounce.
What every tenant should know about marijuana:
1. Marijuana is still illegal. Federal law is the supreme law of the United States. Cities and states cannot nullify Federal law. (You know, that's what the Civil War was all about.) State and local police are required to enforce Federal drug laws, and they do. State police and Federal agents arrest lots of people every day in California for possession of marijuana. Thousands of people go to jail every year on marijuana charges, and that includes people in Berkeley and San Francisco.
2. Marijuana is not a legal medicine. The F.D.A. (Food & Drug Administration) does not recognize marijuana as a medicine. There are lots of people in prison in California right now who got there on a charge of simple marijuana possession - including people who had notes from their doctors and who bought their marijuana at municipally licensed marijuana clubs.
3. Roommates get arrested too! A lot of tenants think that as long as marijuana is stored and used in their roommate's bedroom, they won't get arrested themselves if there is a bust. Wrong! When the police raid a house or apartment and find illegal drugs, it is standard procedure to arrest everybody, including roommates and house guests. Even if no drugs are found in your bedroom, you will be arrested too!
4. A drug arrest is a bad thing! It will show up on your credit report for at least 7 years. You can be denied credit, turned down for a job, or rejected for an apartment. You may not be able to get credit cards. If you already have credit cards, they may be canceled.
5. You could owe your landlord a lot of money! When the police raid an apartment looking for drugs, they often do a lot of physical damage to the property. They break down doors, destroy furniture, wreck appliances, and punch holes in walls looking for drugs and drug money. The cost of repairing an apartment after a police drug raid can run into thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. The police do not pay for this damage, and renter's insurance usually won't pay for it either. You and your co-signer will have to pay for the damage.
6. You will lose your student loans and grants! The Higher Education Act of 1998 requires the federal government to deny educational financial assistance to anyone convicted of a drug offense within the previous year. This means that if you are convicted of possession of marijuana, even a tiny amount, you will lose your student loans, your Pell grant, and any other government paid or guaranteed financial aid. This law only applies to drug offenses; so people convicted of murder, rape, or sabotaging airplanes can still get student loans and grants. (I don't deny that some of our country's drug laws are irrational, and this is a good example at that.)
So don't fool yourself. The "War on Drugs" is not a paper tiger. This tiger has teeth!