Landlord ban authority, possession and home-grow limits, medical patient housing rules, and federal Section 8 restrictions in Oregon.
Recreational cannabis has been legal in Oregon since Ballot Measure 91 passed in 2014 and took effect July 1, 2015, codified today in ORS 475C. Adults 21 and older may possess up to 1 ounce in public, keep up to 8 ounces at home, and grow up to 4 plants per household. None of that strips a landlord of the right to control what happens inside the rental.
Legalization changed the criminal law, not the lease. A landlord may prohibit cannabis smoking, vaping, and cultivation on the property and enforce that prohibition through the Oregon Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ORS Chapter 90). The practical work is drafting a clear written policy, giving the disclosure the statute requires, and knowing where federal law overrides everything for subsidized units.
Oregon is classified as Adult-Use Recreational Legal (effective 2014). The governing statute is Or. Rev. Stat. § 475C (Measure 91, 2014).
ORS § 90.220(7): residential rental landlord may prohibit possession, use, and cultivation. Smoking ban allowed under ORS § 90.220(6).
Oregon voters legalized recreational cannabis through Measure 91 in 2014, effective July 1, 2015. The framework now lives in ORS 475C, the Oregon Cannabis Code, and the state also runs a longstanding medical program (the OMMP). An adult 21 or older may possess up to 1 ounce in public, store up to 8 ounces at a residence, and cultivate up to 4 plants per household.
These rights run against the government, not against a private landlord. A tenant has no statutory entitlement to smoke or grow cannabis in a unit where the lease forbids it. Legal use off-premises is the tenant's business; what happens on your property is governed by the rental agreement and ORS Chapter 90. The distinction matters most for cultivation: four legal plants can still mean excess humidity, odor, mold, and electrical load that justify a written prohibition.
Oregon does not force landlords to allow cannabis consumption or growing. You may ban all smoking (tobacco, cannabis, and vaping alike), and you may separately prohibit cultivation as a lease term. To be enforceable, the restriction should be an express written provision in the rental agreement or rules; a vague or unwritten expectation is hard to evict on.
The cleanest approach is a no-smoking clause that names cannabis explicitly, paired with a separate clause barring cultivation and unhosted odor or nuisance. Because ORS 475C.009 defines "marijuana items" broadly (flower, extracts, edibles), reference that definition so the clause covers vaping and concentrates, not just combustion. Enforcement then flows through the ordinary for-cause termination and eviction process under ORS 105.105 to 105.168.
ORS 90.220(4) requires the rental agreement to include a disclosure of the smoking policy for the premises that complies with ORS 479.305. This is not optional boilerplate: the disclosure must state whether smoking is prohibited entirely, allowed in the unit, or limited to designated areas, and it should make clear that the policy covers cannabis.
Get this in writing at lease signing. If your intent is a smoke-free property, the disclosure is the document that lets you enforce a violation later. Facilities governed by the manufactured-dwelling and floating-home provisions (ORS 90.505 to 90.850) sit under a separate track, but for standard residential tenancies the disclosure requirement applies. A missing or contradictory disclosure undercuts an otherwise valid no-smoking policy.
Oregon recognizes a special category of drug and alcohol free housing, defined in ORS 90.243, aimed at tenants in a program of recovery. Inside that housing, cannabis is treated as a prohibited substance alongside alcohol and illegal drugs, even though it is otherwise legal statewide.
Under ORS 90.398, for a tenant who has lived in drug and alcohol free housing for less than two years, a first violation can be met with a written notice terminating the tenancy in not less than 48 hours, and the tenant may cure by changing conduct within 24 hours of delivery. A repeat of substantially the same violation within 6 months allows a 24-hour termination notice with no right to cure. This is a narrow regime; it does not apply to ordinary market-rate tenancies, and misusing it against a standard tenant will not survive an eviction defense.
Cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and Oregon legalization does not change that for federally assisted housing. Public housing authorities and owners administering Section 8 vouchers operate under federal law (42 USC 13661-13662): they must deny admission to current illegal drug users and may terminate assistance for drug-related activity, with marijuana treated as an illegal drug regardless of state law.
If you rent to voucher holders or own project-based subsidized units, your cannabis policy is set by the federal framework and your HUD or PHA contract, not by ORS 475C. Practically, a tenant's state-legal use can still be grounds for denial or termination in subsidized housing, and a landlord who tolerates it risks its own compliance standing. Keep subsidized-unit policies aligned with the PHA's rules and document enforcement carefully.
Medical cannabis patients in Oregon may be treated identically to recreational users by landlords. There is no state-law anti-discrimination requirement; the federal Schedule I framework controls. Some local jurisdictions may have ordinances providing limited protection, check the city or county where the rental unit is located.
The practical impact: a tenant holding a Housing Choice Voucher who tests positive for cannabis or self-discloses use during recertification can lose their voucher in Oregon, regardless of any state cannabis legalization or medical card status. This is the single most common point of confusion for tenants in adult-use states.
City-level landlord risk profiles often track cannabis-related lease enforcement. View the eviction-risk and tenant-law profile for the largest Oregon rental markets:
This overview reflects Oregon law under ORS 475C, ORS Chapter 90 (including ORS 90.220, 90.243, and 90.398), and the federal treatment of cannabis in assisted housing as of 2026. It is general information for rental-property owners, not legal advice. Cannabis and landlord-tenant rules change, and drug and alcohol free housing and Section 8 tenancies carry additional requirements; confirm current statute text and consult an Oregon landlord-tenant attorney before drafting policy or serving notice.
Yes. Measure 91 and ORS 475C legalized cannabis against the government, not against a private lease. A landlord may prohibit cannabis smoking, vaping, and cultivation as express written lease terms and enforce them under ORS Chapter 90.
Yes. ORS 90.220(4) requires the rental agreement to include a smoking-policy disclosure that complies with ORS 479.305, stating whether smoking is prohibited, allowed in the unit, or limited to designated areas. Make clear it covers cannabis.
Not if the lease forbids it. Oregon allows up to 4 plants per household statewide, but that right does not override a written no-cultivation clause. Growing creates real humidity, odor, and mold exposure, so many landlords prohibit it expressly.
It is a special category under ORS 90.243 for tenants in recovery. Under ORS 90.398, cannabis is a prohibited substance there; a first violation supports a 48-hour termination notice with a 24-hour cure, and a repeat within 6 months supports a 24-hour notice with no cure, for tenants housed less than two years.
Yes. Cannabis is a Schedule I substance federally, and under 42 USC 13661-13662 housing authorities must deny current illegal drug users and may terminate assistance for drug-related activity. State legalization does not protect the tenant in federally assisted housing.
In a standard tenancy, enforce the written no-smoking or no-cultivation term through the ordinary for-cause termination process, then a court eviction (FED action) under ORS 105.105 to 105.168 if the tenant does not comply. The special 48/24-hour notices apply only to drug and alcohol free housing.
Federal authority: 21 U.S.C. § 812; HUD PIH 2014-21. State authority: Or. Rev. Stat. § 475C (Measure 91, 2014). Last updated July 14, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice. Cannabis law is rapidly evolving and federal/state conflict creates significant compliance risk; consult a licensed Oregon attorney before making a lease, screening, or eviction decision involving cannabis.
