US State's New Recovery Housing Law Puts Medical Cannabis Patients At Risk Of Losing Their Homes (Op-Ed)

By Jeremy Tillem, GreenhouseRVA Medical cannabis patients working through recovery deserve the same shot at stable housing as anyone else managing a chronic condition with a legally prescribed medicine. Since July 1, Virginia's state-certified recovery residences must bar all cannabis use, including physician-approved medical cannabis, under rules tied to Senate Bill 270, passed earlier this year. That mandate collides with an April decision by the U.S. Department of Justice moving cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Certified homes must now either demand residents quit a federally lawful Schedule III medication or risk losing certification, forcing patients treating chronic pain, PTSD or anxiety to choose between treatment and housing. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people using controlled substances lose disability protections only for "illegal use of drugs" under the CSA. Since medical cannabis is no longer illegal when used under a valid state recommendation, forcing patients off it to keep housing violates the ADA. The Fair Housing Act similarly bars disability-based housing discrimination. Yet Virginia recovery homes still allow other Schedule II and III drugs like Tylenol with codeine or prescribed opioids — only cannabis patients are singled out under SB 270, despite Virginia code § 40.1-27.4 already shielding certified patients from discrimination in hospitals, nursing homes and schools. SB 270, sponsored by Sen. Schuyler T. VanValkenburg (D), passed both chambers and was signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), carving out recovery housing as the sole exception. The Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR) compounded the issue, delaying application reviews while SB 270 moved through the legislature. GreenhouseRVA filed its certification application in late 2025; VARR reviewed our medically supervised cannabis policy for months without objection, then — two days before the law took effect, with no notice or guidance — told us to withdraw or face denial. We rewrote every policy document to remove cannabis provisions and resubmitted; a decision is pending. The National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR), whose standards VARR claims to follow, explicitly permits certified homes to allow medical cannabis with safeguards — valid state medical cards, locked storage, non-combustible use, inventory tracking and misuse consequences. GreenhouseRVA has run a structured residence since 2021, housing about 25 residents at a time, many referred by courts, probation officers and treatment providers, several using medical cannabis instead of or alongside methadone, Suboxone or Xanax. Cutting off that access strips away a tool people use to reduce reliance on riskier medications. The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, tasked by SB 270 with setting certification standards, should launch an emergency review aligning state rules with the federal Schedule III reclassification. In the 2027 General Assembly session, lawmakers should pass legislation explicitly permitting NARR-aligned medical cannabis policies in certified homes. Jeremy Tillem founded and runs GreenhouseRVA, Virginia's first structured, cannabis-friendly recovery residence, and is in long-term recovery from opioid use disorder.