Colorado was one of the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. (Although it is still a federal crime)
In 2012 Coloradans voted for and passed Amendment 64, which allows individuals over the age of 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana on them (which is a lot) and grow up to 6 marijuana plants (only 3 can be mature at a given time).
Marijuana cannot be smoked or consumed in a public space. Property owners by law can prohibit any marijuana smoking, growing, cultivating and selling of any marijuana on their property. They can also allow it if they choose.
Here are a few sample real estate lease clauses you can add if you wish to not allow marijuana in your home within states that have legalized it.
“Usage of cannabis and any other federally prohibited drug is not allowed on the premises. Further, tenant and their guest(s) may not engage in any illegal drug-related activity, including but not limited to medical cannabis on or near the premises. Landlord may terminate this agreement if tenant and/or guests engage in such activities. If this provision is violated, tenants will be subject to charges, damages, and eviction. Tenant forfeits their security deposit if there is any evidence of cannabis use on the premises.”
You can add Marijuana addendum’s too. Here is an example:
Here are a few example if you want to allow marijuana in your rental property:
- The use of tobacco and cannabis in accordance with state law is allowed on the Premises. Prior written consent of the Landlord is required before medical cannabis may be grown on the Premises.
- This is a nonsmoking residence. No smoking, including medical marijuana, inside the home or on the Premise is permitted. However, consuming medical marijuana with a vaporizer or in cannabis edibles, tonics, or concentrates is permitted.
- No recreational or medical marijuana may be grown or consumed on the Premises by the Tenant(s) or guest(s) without the prior written consent of the Landlord.
There are 23 states that have made medical marijuana legal. However, as a landlord of the property, you can still deny the tenants from smoking even medical marijuana on your property. The landlord would need to enforce the no-smoking lease provision against all of its tenants. The Federal Fair Housing Act reasonable accommodation provisions exclude the current use of a “controlled substance” under federal law from protection. Even though medical marijuana is legal in many states, it is still illegal Federally, therefore the reasonable accommodation provision would not apply in this case. Here is a good Q/A for medical marijuana tenant law in Colorado.
This area of law is still being worked out, so please check in with an attorney or your local fair housing organization for any recent updates.
