Landlords risk legal action over prescription cannabis ban

All our apartments are non smoking, if a tenant, for WHATEVER reason, smokes, they get charged for repairs accordingly, no discrimination.

If in flats, I can see other neighbours being very impressed with that. NOT. What about their right to enjoyment of the property. Who wants weed smell infiltrating their space?

Does that mean I am able to ask on a tenant application form now the prospective tenants heath circumstances and ask if they have been prescribed the same? I see claims of ‘privacy infringement’ that will follow….

How many plants can they grow for this personal consumption?
The anti landlord regulations get dafter, perhaps someone is shut in and office and forced to make up new ones.

In my view this is a very unhelpful article because it doesn’t make clear that the products being prescribed by medical professionals are derivatives of cannabis that don’t provide the same “high” that resin cannabis offers. I’m not aware of any doctor who would prescribe smoking as a health benefit or prescribe cannabis in its raw form, so any tenant of mine claiming that their stash is being used on medical grounds is blagging and I would deal with them in accordance with the regular drugs policy.

Reply to the comment left by moneymanager at 06/09/2024 – 10:36
All prescription cannabis patients are expected to vaporise cannabis flower, not smoke. It would be unlawful for a landlord to try stop them from taking prescribed medication as directed by a clinician, and could lead to expensive legal disputes.

Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 06/09/2024 – 10:48

What legal right to enjoyment of a property? Patients do by contrast have a legal right to consume their prescribed medication as directed by a clinician. Vaporising cannabis causes very little smell compared to smoking.

In terms of tenant application forms, there’s not really a lawful way to demand prospective tenants that use medical cannabis to self-identify themselves. Strictly, you cannot demand prescription copies or any private medical information from a patient – even the police can’t, and it takes extenuating circumstances in court.

The Department for Health & Social Care states that the pharmacy dispensing label attached to any prescription CBPM (cannabis-based products for medicinal use) should be adequate proof of lawful possession, and thus a legal prescription. There is no official card scheme or any other means to identify a patient. Many patients though will choose to share their prescription copies freely to quickly solve any dispute over the legality of their medication.

Reply to the comment left by Paul Essex at 06/09/2024 – 12:07
None, growing for personal medication consumption is not yet legal in the UK. Only GPhC registered specialists can currently prescribe.

Reply to the comment left by DPT at 06/09/2024 – 13:25
This is completely untrue, the majority of legal UK medical cannabis flower is infact high THC – from the exact same cultivars (genetics) as sold on the street illicitly – most were originally bred for the recreational market. 33% THC is currently the highest available on medical.

Patients are expected to vaporise medication, not smoke, which causes far less odour, that typically dissipates much faster.

As for trying to claim any tenant using cannabis on prescription would be dealt with ‘in accordance with the regular drugs policy’ – that’s both discriminatory and entirely unlawful. You’d be risking huge claims for damages and compensation. Trying to override a doctor’s directions to use prescribed medication would be heavily chastised by any court, which would decide in the patient’s favour.

Reply to the comment left by Ralph Leonardo MacMurray at 09/09/2024 – 16:01
I think you have misunderstood my post. It is clear from the context that I was referring to non-prescribed cannabis when I mentioned the drugs policy.

The NHS website says about CBD that “it will not get you high, because it does not contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical in cannabis that makes you high.” However, I accept that there may be other prescription cannabis products that I am not aware of that have a different chemical make-up.

Surely the key point is that any tenant that was unable or unwilling to show evidence that their cannabis use was properly prescribed, would find it very difficult to take action against a landlord who had then implemented their drugs policy, particularly if that policy was required under local landlord licensing.