Homeowners’ Associations Are Dealing with Marijuana Conflicts

Many homeowners’ associations are dealing with conflicts among neighbors about marijuana use, in states where the drug is legal for medical or recreational use, the Associated Press reports. The associations are also grappling with disputes about growing marijuana and hemp.

Associations cannot ban members from using marijuana in their homes if the drug is legal. But they can regulate its use as a nuisance or as a threat to children if neighbors can see or smell marijuana, the article notes.

“The fact that people may be legally entitled to smoke doesn’t mean they can do it wherever they want, any more than they could walk into a restaurant and light up a cigarette,” said Richard Thompson, who owns a management consulting company in Portland, Oregon for condominium and homeowners’ associations.

In his own condo development, neighbors complain about marijuana smoke in the warmer weather, when people are out on their patios and have the windows down, he told the AP.

“What we’re really seeing more now is regulating the associations’ common areas,” such as playgrounds and homeowners’ porches, said Erin McManis, a Phoenix laywer whose firm represents many homeowners’ associations.