New York Senate Passes Bill Protecting Medical Marijuana Patients From Eviction

The New York State Senate approved a bill on Tuesday that would grant housing protections for registered medical marijuana patients. The measure, S.4117, “prohibits the eviction of tenants for using medical marijuana for a certified medical use,” according to a summary of the bill.

S.4117 was originally introduced in the New York State Senate by Democratic Sen. Anna Kaplan in February 2019. The bill was approved by the Senate in April of that year and referred to the State Assembly, where it died in January 2020.

That sent the measure back to the Senate, where it was passed again by the chamber this week by a vote of 58 to 2. The bill has been referred again to the State Assembly, where it has been assigned to the Housing Committee for consideration as A.7764.

“This legislation would seek to ensure that tenants lawfully using medical marihuana are protected from eviction proceedings,” a memo accompanying the Assembly version of the legislation cites as justification for its passage.