The Prairie State is now about nine (9) months into its experiment with legal marijuana, as the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (“Cannabis Act”) went into effect in January. Community managers have seen an uptick in marijuana odor complaints as COVID-19 keeps folks in their homes for both work and recreation, and as more association occupants expand their definition of the word “recreation” to include cannabis usage. Suffice it to say, Illinois cannabis dispensaries, like Netflix, backyard kiddie pool makers, and hand sanitizer manufacturers are making money hand-over-fist during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
nine (9) month juana, as the “Cannabis Act”) anagers as
At the end of 2019, the shared fear among boards and managers was that they would have to field constant complaints of marijuana odors and nuisances from those community members who oppose the use of cannabis in the association and demand board action.
So, were the fears realized? How are associations adapting to legal marijuana use? We’ll answer those questions, along with a few others, but first, a quick refresher: the Cannabis Act added Section 33 to the Illinois Condominium Property Act (“ILCPA”), which allows condo associations to ban cannabis smoking via combustion anywhere on association property including within the units. The ban must be enacted via a declaration amendment with unit owner approval. The association, however, may not prohibit the use of marijuana within units through other, less conventional methods, such as consuming food or beverages infused with cannabis, cannabis-infused topical ointments, or “vaping.” There was no such amendment for HOA’s and townhome associations governed by the Common Interest Community Association Act (“CICAA”).
• Are the non-smoking amendments working? To a large extent, yes. Given the expansive methods
By Nicholas P. Bartzen, Esq. – Altus Legal, LLC
of using cannabis, a quick warning to smokers in a building that has adopted a declaration ban should usually do the trick. Declaration prohibitions are the “gold standard” for limiting smoking, and most cannabis users understand that. One cease and desist letter will usually result in the user switching to another, less offensive method (again, ointments, tonics, cannabis-laden “gummy bears” – the sky is truly the limit when it comes to ingesting cannabis these days). Thus, provided a board follows the proper steps to prohibit smoking via amendment, community managers and boards are generally (with certain exceptions) seeing those limitations respected.
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www.cai-illinois.org • 847.301.7505 | 9
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