Hello:

For what it’s worth, I live in Seattle. I have a prescription for marijuana. In a previous rental, I had a legal medical marijuana garden, and I had a big red sign on the door stating so. While I was away for a weekend, my landlord paid me a visit. He tore down the sign and called the cops. The cops destroyed my garden and arrested me.

No, of course I wasn’t ever charged. But I sued the landlord. Case pending. Am I going to win?

excon

brooks

Unless you have a marijuana smoking liberal Judge I would say a big NO. The landlord has the prerogative to make the rules and conditions under which (s)he is renting the property to you.

RickJ

This is interesting. I have no clue whatsoever, but I'm with excon, thinking that if the state or municipality has legalized it's use or growth with a prescription, then you'd have a case.

Are you going at this as your own council? If not, what does your attorney give as backup or precedence that you have a good case?

Cvillecpm

Ex - don't the police have to be advised of the "legal garden"? Shouldn't you have advised them in writing of you and your garden's status?

If the landlord came in while you were away with no notice, is that the basis for your case against the landlord?

IMHO....I think you have a better case for that than the police destroying your garden.

brooks

I just did a quick search of Seattle's Marijuana laws, and unless there has been more changes to the law, it is still illegal to use or grow marijuana in Seattle. The state laws have merely de-prioritized the arrest of Marijuana users. Marijuana users are arrested and given the choice of incarceration or treatment. Excon didn't say if his garden was in his apartment/home or outside, but if he was living in an apartment and his garden was in some field, then that would be another obstacle to hurdle through in justifying his suit against the LL.

excon

Hello:

I’m a guy who likes to know where he stands. It’s tedious, I know, but I read stuff. I read ALL my computer manuals. I read ALL my insurance policies. I read ALL the agreements I make online. In addition, having faced prosecution in the past, I read the law. I’m a very boring dude, but I know a lot of stuff. Therefore, I just didn’t just willy nilly start a pot garden.

Civil: In some of the states where medical pot is legal, the state itself issues a “marijuana card”, which when presented at one of the marijuana co-ops, allows one to make a purchase. Oregon and California are among those. However, Washington state law doesn’t do that. It simply says, that if certain conditions are presented to a medical doctor, and if, in his opinion, a patient would benefit from medical marijuana, he may write a prescription. That prescription, like any other you get from your doctor, isn’t anybody’s business, and certainly not the states' business. That’s as it should be.

I’m suing the landlord for false arrest only, and am proceeding pro se.

The landlord said he posted notice on the door on Friday and entered on Sunday, thereby giving me reasonable notice. He had my phone number, but didn’t call. That may or may not have been reasonable notice, but it’s academic. If I sue under the landlord tenant act, I can only recover limited damages. However, if I sue him for false arrest, which I believe he did, and maliciously so, I believe I can win a substantial judgment. I was in jail for 6 days, suffered immense financial damages, and I can prove them all.

The law doesn't advise people how to adhere to it. It only set's out the maximum amount of pot you can have, and that's what I had - no more.

The garden was in my basement, not that it matters. The law isn’t a city law, it’s a State law, entitled The Washington State Medical Marijuana Act. You can find it at Chapter 69.51A of the Revised Code of Washington. The voters in the CITY of Seattle, VOTED to make marijuana the LEAST priority on a cop’s agenda. That’s what you ran into, brooks.

And, finally, I don’t need a pot smoking judge. Just one who follows the law. There are still a few of them around.

excon

brooks

If you insist on suing your landlord as apposed to the police, it would seem to me that you would have to prove that she was aware of your “covered” illness and that she did so maliciously. Being that marijuana use is still illegal in Seattle and that there is a certain liability or risk to the LL's property, she was doing her civic duty by calling the police. As for the illegal entry, you advertised that you were conducting an illegal activity in the home, and probably did not notify your landlord that you were going to be gone for any specified period. That would be reason enough for the landlord to allow herself in. After all, you could have abandoned the home or could be dead for all she knew. Regardless, it would be interesting to see how this works out. Who knows, I may be reading about it someday on the Internet.

RickJ

From the notice you had posted on your door, it seems clear that the landlord should have known. I still think you have a case and am eager to hear how it's going.

Good luck to you, excon (and potentially future con! )

Joking aside, I hope you win. If the law says it's ok, then that landlord should pay the consequences of his actions.

phillysteakandcheese

If I was your landlord, I would also be concerned about your "grow op" on the property.

Why do you need to have a garden to grow your own? Can't you get the drug from a pharmacy or other "legit medical" source?

I would take the view that having a grow op on the propertly leaves too much risk for abuse... Even with a valid medical perscription.

excon

The garden was in the basement. It had a door. I put a big red sign on that door. I did not put a sign on the front door of the house advertising my business to the world. The sign on the door is documented by photographs with a newspaper headline to confirm the date.

Contrary to what you say, the landlord does not have a civic duty to call the police once she has been put on notice that the garden is legal. As a matter of fact, THAT act is where she violated my rights and created the false arrest.

The cops found no sign, and thereby didn’t cause the false arrest to happen. I never thought I’d say it, but it’s not the cops fault.

I understand that she thought she was protecting her property. She was wrong. Too bad.

No, I did not notify my landlord that I would be out of town for the weekend. People don’t do that. What does it matter, in any case? My rent was paid.

excon