Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

Arguably one of the of the best songs on R&B artist Lloyd's 2007 album "Street Love" is "Hazel."' Crooning out lyrics such as "Hey Hazel, I like you. Can't see myself without you my sweet Hazel, cuz I think I'm in love, I'm in love," 2 Lloyd sings an ode to Hazel about their first time meeting, their time spent together, and the love he has for her.' Listeners soon realize, however, that Hazel is not a love song about a girl; rather, the song serves as a well-crafted metaphor for Lloyd's love of marijuana. An analysis of the lyrics reveals that the hook, "I can count on you whenever I need to take it slow, and you be taking me up up and away we go, you got my eyes so low and they damn near closed,"' is talking about the aftermath of smoking marijuana when THC' enters the brain and releases copious amounts of dopamine, causing users to feel euphoric or "high."' Additionally, marijuana use causes the muscles in the eyes to relax,' which explains Lloyd's reference to his eyes being "damn near closed." The ease with which Lloyd sings about his love for marijuana begs the question, is marijuana really that bad?

Lloyd is not the only musician who has sung an ode to marijuana. Artists such as Rick James, Black Sabbath, and Fergie have all vocalized their love for marijuana.' Marijuana has also been the subject of movies,' documentaries,"o and debates. " Yet given the side effects of smoking marijuana, such as distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, temporary memory loss, and increased risk of schizophrenia,12 how has it risen to be the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States?' 3 In 2011 alone, 18.1 million Americans aged 12 and older reported using the drug within the previous month.' 4 Between 2007 and 2011, the rate of users increased from 14.4 million to 18.1 million, and 16.7% of Americans who used the drugs did so on 300 or more days of the year." What's more, marijuana is not just limited to teens and wayward youth; renowned musicians such as Bob Marley, Paul McCartney, and Neil Young were known for their use of marijuana." Talk show host and entrepreneur Oprah, famed author Maya Angelou, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and even President Barack Obama have all admitted to using marijuana.' 7 If all these people are "lighting up" and appear to be fully functional human beings, why is the United States so averse to decriminalizing marijuana?

This note brings attention to how the scheduling and criminalization of marijuana negatively affects federally funded public housing. Expanding on a case that came out of the Connecticut Urban Legal Initiative (CULI), this note discusses how tenants who live in federally funded public housing and use marijuana for medical purposes have been evicted and/or face eviction. Through a comparative analysis of marijuana laws and public housing laws in the Netherlands and the U.S., this note argues that a more relaxed marijuana policy such as the one in the Netherlands would be more beneficial for the U.S. than its current criminalization policy.

Part I of this note gives a brief overview of marijuana and the effects of smoking it. Part II gives a historical overview of how the drug entered Dutch and US markets and discusses the role of medical marijuana in each country. This section also provides information about public housing and the reasons why each country's government developed a public housing program. Part III discusses the intersection of marijuana and public housing. This section focuses heavily on the U.S. and presents information on how the criminalization of marijuana negatively affects people who live in public housing. Part IV presents some solutions for the U.S. and explores how changes in marijuana laws would benefit medical marijuana users living in public housing. Part V concludes with a summary of the note and a prediction on the future of marijuana in the United States.

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