New Somerville Exhibit Studies Link Between Cannabis & Eviction

SOMERVILLE, MA — The Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS)is bringing “Evicted,” an exhibit based on Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer prize-winning book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, to the Armory in Somerville from Sept. 10 to Nov. 4.

To support CAAS and “Evicted” and raise awareness of the connection between cannabis and evictions from public housing, three Somerville cannabis retailers have come together to support this community initiative.

Ayr Wellness, Liberty Cannabis and Rev Clinics are joining forces to put a spotlight on the housing challenges people with cannabis convictions face in a market where cannabis is now legal for both medical and adult use.

“The disconnect that exists between state and federal cannabis laws has created a second class of citizens in America when it comes to access to public housing assistance (PHA),” Rabbi James Kahn, Director of National Outreach for Liberty Cannabis, said in a statement. “While wealthy Americans have no need to access PHA, the poor depend on it and unfortunately, anyone caught with medical cannabis or suspected of using it loses access to PHA and faces eviction from public housing creating a new world of illegality that only applies to the poor.”

Under current law, cannabis is functionally illegal for low-income individuals living in federally assisted housing, even in states with robust regulated medical cannabis programs.

To raise awareness of this issue, educate the the community, and provide a call to action, these cannabis retailers will sell limited edition edibles, “Evicted Citral Orange Bites,” with 20 mg of THC per bite and made with Ghirardelli dark chocolate, sprinkles of sea salt, and orange oil.

Ayr Wellness, Liberty Cannabis and Rev Clinics are selling the edibles to medical patients in their Somerville stores available immediately with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the CAAS and the exhibit.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the other Somerville medical cannabis retailers for this cause,” Tom Schneider, Chief Marketing Officer at Rev Clinics, said in a statement. “It’s not every day you see business competitors unite in this way and we feel lucky to be able to work with these talented folks to produce a product that will help raise awareness around this incredibly important issue.”

“Ayr has been a longtime partner of CAAS, going back to our days as Sira Naturals. And today we are proud to partner with CAAS, Rev Clinics and Liberty to support this initiative,” said Dwan Packnett, Vice President of Government Relations & Community Investment at Ayr. “We recognize that the link between cannabis and evictions from public housing results from dated policy related to the War on Drugs. Public sentiment is shifting, however, and we are in urgent need of systemic change: we hope that this exhibit will help shed light on some of the disproportionate challenges that people with prior cannabis convictions continue to face.”

In addition to purchasing the limited-edition edibles to support this community initiative, community members can contact local representatives asking them to support H.R. 3212 — Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act of 2021. The bill was introduced back in May 2021, but has not yet been heard in committee. Prior versions of the bill introduced in 2018 and 2019 similarly did not gain traction.

The exhibit is at the Center for the Arts at the Armory, located at 191 Highland Ave #1c. Hours are Monday through Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. In addition, CAAS, Ayr Wellness, Liberty Cannabis, and Rev Clinics will host a cannabis industry event at the exhibit on October 19.

For more information, visit https://www.caasomerville.org/evicted-exhibit.