Tenant loses human rights complaint after BC landlord prohibits medical cannabis
A BC renter who was forced to move after his landlord took issue with his medical cannabis use has lost his human rights complaint.
The landlord said her asthma was sensitive to the smell of cannabis, even when he vaporized it outside, forcing the tenant and his family to break their lease just months into their tenancy.
Carmen Papalia took his complaint to the BC Human Rights Tribunal, claiming the landlord's rule discriminated against his medical need for cannabis. More than three years after moving out, the tribunal described the feud as a tenancy issue between "competing disabilities," before dismissing Papalia's complaint.
He and his family moved into the basement suit owned by landlords Sheryl Yeager and Wayne Adare in December 2019. It was advertised as a non-smoking suite due to Yeager's asthma, they told the tribunal.
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Papalia said they don't smoke, believing his medical use of cannabis wouldn't be an issue, but the landlords raised the issue in early January.
Over the next few weeks, Papalia and the landlords negotiated ways to address the cannabis use, taking into account his pain management and Yeager's asthma. Yeager would not allow him to vaporize inside the house, while Papalia said he couldn't always walk off the property because of his pain.
She said her asthma was "aggravated" in March and April because of the cannabis smell, which she was usually able to manage with medication. She opted to see her doctor in the spring because it wasn't "under control."
They eventually agreed to end the lease as they weren't able to agree on cannabis use, but not before Papalia said he would take the landlords to the Human Rights Tribunal over the dispute.
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At the tribunal hearing, Papalia stopped short of refuting whether the smell of his cannabis was aggravating her asthma, but he did claim she went to the doctor in order to "gather evidence." The tribunal noted his cannabis use was part of his pain management regimen, but Yeager said he does not have a prescription for it.
The tribunal found the vaporized cannabis would have "seriously jeopardized" Yeager's health, siding with the landlords' decision not to allow it on their property.
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