Can a landlord ask me to stop smoking medical marijuana?

Generally a landlord cannot ask you to stop smoking or vaping marijuana if you’re using it for a medical reason. This includes smoking or vaping it inside your own apartment, on your personal balcony, on your personal terrace, or in your backyard.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001. If your health-care provider thinks medical marijuana will help you, they give you a medical document. This is like a prescription. Medical documents are valid for up to one year.

Your medical document will say the maximum amount of marijuana you’re allowed to use and grow, and the daily amount your health-care provider prescribed for you.

Marijuana is also called cannabis, weed, and pot.

No smoking in indoor common areas

You cannot smoke or vape marijuana in the indoor common areas of your residential building. Indoor common areas may include places like the hallway, stairwell, lobby, or a shared laundry room. The same rules that apply to smoking tobacco cigarettes in common areas generally also apply to smoking or vaping marijuana.

Recreational marijuana is different

Marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Canada on October 17, 2018. But the rules for medical and recreational marijuana use are different. For example, even though smoking medical marijuana in your residential unit is protected by law, smoking recreational marijuana isn’t protected in the same way.

Your landlord can ban smoking or vaping recreational marijuana in residential units. This includes recreational smoking or vaping on your personal balcony, terrace, or back yard. If your lease or condominium rules say that smoking recreational marijuana isn’t allowed, then you must follow those rules. This is the same as if your landlord bans smoking tobacco cigarettes. If you don’t follow the landlord’s rules, the landlord may try to evict you.