New Congressional Bill Would Let People Use Marijuana In Public Housing Without Being Evicted

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) have filed a bill in Congress to allow people living in federally assisted housing to use marijuana in compliance with state laws without having to fear losing their homes.

Under current policy, people who live in public housing are prohibited from using controlled substances in those facilities regardless of state law, and landlords are able to evict them. The new bicameral legislation—titled the “Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act”—would change that.

The bill would provide protections for people living in public housing or Section 8 housing from being displaced simply for using cannabis in states that have legalized it for medical or recreational purposes.

Norton has filed similar versions of the proposal over recent sessions, but the reform has yet to be enacted. Booker joined Norton in sponsoring the legislation last Congress as well.

“Tenants should not be discriminated against, evicted, or denied federally assisted housing for legally using marijuana or treating a medical condition in states where it is permitted,” Booker said in a press release on Wednesday. “The Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act would end these discriminatory practices and ensure tenants are not punished for personal choices made in accordance with state law.”

The bill would further require the head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to enact regulations that restrict smoking marijuana at these properties in the same way that tobacco is handled.

“Individuals living in federally funded housing should not fear eviction simply for treating their medical conditions or for seeking a substance legal in their state,” Norton said. “Increasingly, Americans are changing their views on marijuana, and it is time that Congress caught up with its own constituents. With so many states improving their laws, this issue should have broad bipartisan appeal because it protects states’ rights.”

Marijuana is legal in 40 states, yet people in federally funded housing can still be evicted for using it.   I introduced a bill with @SenBooker to fix this and align federal law with the 90% of Americans who support legal medical marijuana. pic.twitter.com/tR0ZjTyXYT

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) December 17, 2025

In 2018, a Trump administration official said that she was working to resolve conflicting federal and state marijuana laws as it applies to residency in federally-subsidized housing, but it’s not clear what came of that effort.

Norton sent a letter to HUD in 2021 that implored the department to use executive discretion and not punish people over cannabis in legal states. In response, the President Joe Biden’s HUD secretary told the congresswoman that it is statutorily required to continue denying federally assisted housing to people who use marijuana, even if they’re acting in compliance with state law.

Booker and Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) filed a bill last year to repeal a decades-old federal statute that’s led to the denial of housing for millions of people with prior drug convictions.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also raised the issue during a committee hearing in 2019, pressing former HUD Secretary Ben Carson on policies that cause public housing residents and their families to be evicted for committing low-level offenses such as marijuana possession.

Ocasio-Cortez and then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) also filed legislation that year that would protect people with low-level drug convictions from being denied access to or being evicted from public housing.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) also introduced an affordable housing bill in 2020 that included a provision to prevent landlords from evicting people over manufacturing marijuana extracts if they have a license to do so.

Democratic Congresswoman Blasts Efforts To Restrict D.C. Marijuana Laws, Vowing To ‘Continue To Fight’ For Reform

A Democratic congresswoman representing Washington, D.C. says she intends to “continue to fight” against efforts by her GOP colleagues to interfere with the District’s marijuana laws, vowing to again push for the removal of a spending bill rider that’s long prevented a commercial cannabis market.

Speaking at the National Cannabis Policy Summit on Monday, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that despite the growing state-level legalization movement, “the federal government continues to block progress on marijuana legalization in D.C. and nationally.”

“It is past time for the federal government to catch up with the American people and legalize adult-use marijuana,” she said.

But while recent administrations from both major parties have taken a largely hands-off approach to state cannabis laws, Norton noted that “the federal government has a unique role in marijuana policy in D.C. because it holds plenary authority under the Constitution.

That means “Congress can legislate on any D.C. matter at any time,” and “Congress has consistently used that authority to interfere in D.C. marijuana policies, both medical and adult-use,” she said.

It’s past time for the federal government to catch up with the American people and legalize adult-use marijuana nationally.

Until then, Congress should keep its #HandsOffDC‘s cannabis policy, as I said today at the National Cannabis Policy Summit. pic.twitter.com/RJvT10out3

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) April 28, 2025

What Norton didn’t mention in her speech is the fact that the District’s marijuana laws have recently been threatened in an especially direct way under the Trump administration, with a U.S. attorney warning a licensed cannabis dispensary that it may be subject to federal prosecution, in part due to its proximity to certain schools.

Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin said in an interview that shutting down licensed marijuana dispensaries doesn’t “rise to the top” of his priorities, but his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.”

Marijuana Moment reached out to Norton’s office for comment on the federal prosecutor’s threat letter to the locally approved cannabis dispensary, but a representative said she was declining to comment on that specific situation.

At the cannabis summit, however, Norton focused on the appropriations rider, championed by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), that’s blocked D.C. from allowing adult-use marijuana sales, despite voter approval of a ballot measure to legalize possession and home cultivation over a decade ago.

“As Congress works on the fiscal year 2026 appropriation bill, I will continue to fight to remove this rider,” she said, while referencing a recent statement from the White House that called the District’s move to enact local marijuana reform an example of a “failed” policy that “opened the door to disorder.”

“President Trump has opposed D.C. legalizing the sale of adult-use marijuana during his first term [and] recently issued an executive order regarding D.C.,” she said. “Among other things, the executive order criticized D.C. for legalizing marijuana. Until D.C. is a state, Congress will control D.C.’s local matters.”

Norton also previewed her plans to reintroduce legislation “that would allow marijuana in public or other federal-assisted housing in compliance with marijuana laws where the property is located, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s rules on on smoking cigarettes.”

“I will introduce this bill again this Congress,” the lawmaker said, adding that she also intends to file legislation that “would give D.C. the authority to grant clemency for D.C/ crimes, including those relating to marijuana—just like states grant clemency for state crimes, for D.C. crimes.”

“If we continue to fight, I believe marijuana will be legalized nationally and D.C. will be a state,” Norton said.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Meanwhile last week, an activist who received a pardon for a marijuana-related conviction during Trump’s first term paid a visit to the White House, discussing future clemency options with the recently appointed “pardon czar.”

Separately, a marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) has released a series of ads over recent weeks that have attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.

Its latest ad accused former President Joe Biden and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.

Adding uncertainty to that process, Trump’s pick to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, is on record repeatedly voicing concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linking its use to higher suicide risk among youth.

Cole said during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday that examining the proposal to federally reschedule marijuana will be “one of my first priorities” if he’s confirmed for the role, saying it’s “time to move forward” on the stalled process.

However, he repeatedly declined to commit to support the specific proposed rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that was initiated under the Biden administration.

The current acting administrator, Derek Maltz, has separately made a series of sensational claims about marijuana, calling it a gateway drug that sets children up to use other substances, suggesting marijuana use is linked to school shootings and alleging that the Justice Department “hijacked” the cannabis rescheduling process from DEA.

Last month, DEA notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before Maltz.

Meanwhile, a recent poll found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms. And notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.

The survey showed that majorities of overall voters (70 percent) and GOP voters (67 percent) back rescheduling cannabis.

The survey was first noted by CNN in a report in March that quoted a White House spokesperson saying the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump endorsed on the campaign trail last year.

The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.

Meanwhile, former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from Trump during his first term staged an event outside the White House earlier this month, expressing gratitude for the relief they were given and calling on the new administration to grant the same kind of help to others who are still behind bars for cannabis.

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Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

Cory Booker Bill Would Let People Use Marijuana In Public Housing Without Being Evicted

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) are reintroducing a bill to allow people living in federally assisted housing to use marijuana in compliance with state law without fear of losing their homes.

As it stands, people living in public housing are prohibited from using controlled substances in those facilities regardless of state law, and landlords are able to evict such individuals. The bicameral legislation—titled the “Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act”—would change that.

It would provide protections for people living in public housing or Section 8 housing from being displaced simply for using cannabis in states that have legalized it for medical or recreational purposes.

Norton has filed similar versions of the proposal over recent sessions, but the reform has yet to be enacted. This appears to be the first time Booker is championing a Senate companion. The latest bill is similar to what’s been previously introduced, with mostly technical changes to the language.

“This legislation challenges the discriminatory practices that still negatively impact tenants in federal housing programs, and ensures that personal choices made in accordance with state law are protected,” Booker said in a press release on Thursday. “No one should face eviction or be denied housing for legally using marijuana or treating a medical condition in states where it is permitted.”

The bill would further require the head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to enact regulations that restrict smoking marijuana at these properties in the same way that tobacco is handled.

“Individuals living in federally assisted housing should not be denied admission or fear eviction simply for treating their medical conditions or using a substance legal under state law,” Norton said. “Increasingly, Americans are changing their views on marijuana, and it is time that Congress caught up with its own constituents. With so many states improving their laws, this issue should have broad bipartisan appeal.”

Marijuana is legal in 38 states and DC.   People living in federally funded public housing shouldn't fear eviction for using it, so @SenBooker and I introduced our bill to permit its use in public housing in jurisdictions where it's legal.  https://t.co/att4D6OKmm

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) January 25, 2024

The bill’s path forward is an open question. With competing legislative priorities in the second half of the 118th Congress, advocates and stakeholders have largely focused on a cannabis banking bill that cleared a Senate committee last year.

In 2018, a Trump administration official said that she was working to resolve conflicting federal and state marijuana laws as it applies to residency in federally-subsidized housing, but it’s not clear what came of that effort.

Norton sent a letter to HUD in 2021 that implored the department to use executive discretion and not punish people over cannabis in legal states. In response, the President Joe Biden’s HUD secretary told the congresswoman that it is statutorily required to continue denying federally assisted housing to people who use marijuana, even if they’re acting in compliance with state law.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also raised the issue during a committee hearing in 2019, pressing former HUD Secretary Ben Carson on policies that cause public housing residents and their families to be evicted for committing low-level offenses such as marijuana possession.

Ocasio-Cortez and then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) also filed legislation that year that would protect people with low-level drug convictions from being denied access to or being evicted from public housing.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) also introduced an affordable housing bill in 2020 that included a provision to prevent landlords from evicting people over manufacturing marijuana extracts if they have a license to do so.

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Photo courtesy of Martin Alonso.