British Landlords Must Allow Medical Marijuana Consumption And Ensure Privacy, Per New Report

The British Cannabis Industry Council (CIC) issued a new report reminding housing providers in the UK of their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits discrimination based on various disabilities.

The report, The Use of Prescription Cannabis in Buildings insists that landlords, property managers and housing associations must allow the use of prescribed medical marijuana within the confines of a tenant's private space and ensure privacy and confidentiality.

Any restrictions on the possession and consumption of prescribed medical cannabis is considered a discrimination and violates the Equality Act. Breaching the Act this way could lead to housing providers being taken to court or added to a ‘rogue’ landlord database.

"Housing providers must treat prescription cannabis patients like any other medical patients, and indeed should take steps to ensure patients can consume their medication at home," stated the report author Mohammad Wasway of PatientsCann. "We urge landlords and housing associations to proactively engage with tenants and leaseholders, to ensure that do not discriminate against patients with disabilities."

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The paper, reviewed by lawyer Robert Jappie, also provides guidance for patients regarding their legal rights.

"The Cannabis Industry Council will be engaging with housing providers to help them understand their legal obligations and support their tenants and leaseholders," said CIC Standards Working Group chair Elisabetta Faenza in a statement. "We believe it would be proportionate for landlords who continue to deny patients their basic rights to be added to ‘rogue' landlord databases or indeed be taken to court."

Read Also: Will UK Cannabis Laws Change Under New Labour Government? Doesn’t Look That Way Just Yet

Medical Marijuana In The UK

The need for cannabis as medicine was highlighted by two cases involving children with severe epilepsy. One is Billy Caldwell and the other is Alfie Dingley. They were both using cannabis low-dose THC oil to treat their seizures. Thanks to them and their families the need for cannabis as medicine was brought to the public, and the UK decided to embrace it in 2018.

Since then, the number of medical marijuana patients grew significantly. : “In July, Mamedica, a medical marijuana clinic in Westminster, told the BBC that patient numbers grew more than tenfold in 2023, from 250 to 2,750.

CEO Jon Robson said this was down to a “large number of patients who are transitioning to us not just from the illicit market, but because they haven’t found the treatments that the NHS can provide to be sufficient for their conditions”.

While it is possible to access medical marijuana through the National Health Service (NHS), this rarely occurs and only in severe cases of epilepsy, chemotherapy-induced nausea or certain cases of muscle stiffness associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). Since medical marijuana is not widely available via the NHS, many families struggle to afford life-saving medicine for their children.

Read Next :

• UK Mom’s Concern As No Doctor Will Prescribe Cannabis For Her Daughter’s 300 Daily Seizures

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