35 votes

Amid marijuana legalization, a civic problem lingers: that smell

36 comments

  1. [15]
    knocklessmonster
    (edited )
    Link
    As a very part-time cannabis consumer, it's the same issue cigarettes have, and it comes to respect for your surroundings. A main reason I prefer edibles is the smell of weed is very strong. It's...

    As a very part-time cannabis consumer, it's the same issue cigarettes have, and it comes to respect for your surroundings. A main reason I prefer edibles is the smell of weed is very strong. It's not physically irritating to me like cigarette smoke somehow (unless I'm hitting myself), and I even enjoy the smell of good cannabis, but it's annoying to be chilling at home and smell my neighbor stepping out for a hit right outside my window, or somebody smoking a joint in the next complex's courtyard.

    The issue is sort of two fold: We should be okay with its use in public if we tolerate cigarettes, but users should also be respectful of those around them: Take reasonable precautions to avoid stinking up your neighbor's place, don't blow smoke at passersby, etc. This isn't a "but cigarette smokers do this, too!" sort of thing, but a "all smokers have the same basic responsibility" thing.

    36 votes
    1. [11]
      Foreigner
      Link Parent
      I don't know if it's really comparable. Not to defend cigarettes, but if someone smokes them outside a prohibited area (if you're in one like a public park), you're not very likely to notice...

      We should be okay with its use in public if we tolerate cigarettes

      I don't know if it's really comparable. Not to defend cigarettes, but if someone smokes them outside a prohibited area (if you're in one like a public park), you're not very likely to notice cigarette smoke unless they're quite close (and it dissipates somewhat quickly in the open air). I've not observed this to be the case with marijuana. When someone is smoking marijuana, the smell carries much farther, is a lot stronger, and it lingers for longer. Not great when you're in a park with your kids (where smoking is prohibited) and someone happens to be smoking weed nearby.

      I think the idea of having designated spots makes the most sense to me but I imagine anyone who lives near those and doesn't smoke wouldn't be happy about it either.

      25 votes
      1. [5]
        vord
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        As a former cigarette smoker, and a current pot vaper (and former smoker), I'll disagree with that hard. Unless there's a super strong wind blowing it away, I can smell 2 people having a smoke...

        you're not very likely to notice cigarette smoke unless they're quite close

        As a former cigarette smoker, and a current pot vaper (and former smoker), I'll disagree with that hard.

        Unless there's a super strong wind blowing it away, I can smell 2 people having a smoke break from over 100 feet away.

        And I can say with some certainty that pot smoke does not linger long-term in the same way cigarette smoke does. Smoke a cigarette in a closed room and you'll smell it for weeks. Smoke a joint in the same closed room and you won't be able to tell after a day or so.

        I'm not terribly worried about my kids getting secondhand potsmoke outdoors, given that 'secondhand high' doesn't really happen unless you're in a terribly confined space. And since I treat pot like alcohol, it's really not any more taboo short of 'probably shouldn't do that in the park'. In terms of actual lung damage you'll get more from smelling somebody's BBQ.

        26 votes
        1. Foreigner
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          I suppose it's a question of personal tolerance, though I'm also a former cigarette smoker who lucked out and stopped because the taste and smell were making me physically ill, and my personal...

          I suppose it's a question of personal tolerance, though I'm also a former cigarette smoker who lucked out and stopped because the taste and smell were making me physically ill, and my personal experience differs from yours. I expect I'm not alone as the article would indicate.

          My comment refers specifically to the smell and the impact on the quality of life of that has on others in public spaces. Obviously cigarettes are worse for your health, not going to argue with that. And what you do indoors in your own place is your own business (as long as you don't impact others) and whether the smell lingers indoors in your place or not is no one else's problem. But there is absolutely a difference in the impact of the smell, how far it spreads, how it hangs in the air, and how others are affected in public spaces. Otherwise this article wouldn't have been written and there wouldn't be backlash in places where weed has been legalised.

          To use a bad analogy, having really poor hygiene is not illegal and doesn't impact surrounding people's health. Are people going to want to hang around someone who stinks? No. If suddenly a sizeable number of the population starts to have really bad hygiene and smell to the point where it starts smelling almost everywhere you go and you can barely get away from it (as was my experience with weed in NYC)? People are going to start complaining and want something done about it.

          As I said in another comment, I'm pro legalisation, it's stupid not to when alcohol and cigarettes are also legal. But I wouldn't dismiss people's complaints and tell them they should just put up with it if their quality of life is impacted. All that will do is make people resent weed smokers and then the backlash begins. And it might mean other places are slower to or don't legalise at all.

          9 votes
        2. NachoMan
          Link Parent
          Yeah that's definitely personal, I also quit smoking years back and I also notice how far away I can smell it in the air or even on people now. Marihuana is just worse to me.

          Yeah that's definitely personal, I also quit smoking years back and I also notice how far away I can smell it in the air or even on people now. Marihuana is just worse to me.

          4 votes
        3. [2]
          Nazarie
          Link Parent
          As someone who does neither but has been around both in various forms my whole life, I disagree. Both linger and both carry. They are equally distasteful for different reasons and I have a...

          As someone who does neither but has been around both in various forms my whole life, I disagree. Both linger and both carry. They are equally distasteful for different reasons and I have a visceral hate for smelling either. And I'm all for them being legal, I just don't want to be subjected to smelling them.

          4 votes
          1. vord
            Link Parent
            USA numbers: Something like 12% of the population smokes cigarettes daily. Roughly the same for regular pot users, probably with a bit of overlap, so probably something like 18% of the population...

            USA numbers: Something like 12% of the population smokes cigarettes daily. Roughly the same for regular pot users, probably with a bit of overlap, so probably something like 18% of the population smoking something once a day or more. Estimates put around 50 million people have smoked pot at least once.

            Realistically, if you have 5 neighbors, at least one smokes. They need a place to do it, which is often either in or around their residence.

            There's no escaping it short of moving to an extremely rural area, or setting up dedictates smoking/nonsmoking zones. Though if you make it too inconvienient for smokers, they'll just completely ignore the rules....though thats true for most people for most things.

            3 votes
      2. [2]
        knocklessmonster
        Link Parent
        I was a little wide in my target with "public," but still stand by the main point where to a point we'll need to tolerate it, but there's a huge difference between "they've done everything they...

        I was a little wide in my target with "public," but still stand by the main point where to a point we'll need to tolerate it, but there's a huge difference between "they've done everything they can and I still smell it" or "they're walled up in their apartment and I get a whiff" and "blowing smoke into a crowd of people." In any negative context weed is significantly more annoying because it's more pungent, of course.

        Designated spots like bars make sense, and I think even punishing inappropriate consumption like drinking alcohol in public wouldn't be the worst thing, since it's a pretty strong drug, impairs judgement, and definitely should not be something you're under the influence of while operating transport.

        5 votes
        1. Foreigner
          Link Parent
          Don't disagree with any of your points there. I personally don't have an issue with people smoking in their private residence, or outdoors in an open area away from others, or in designated spots...

          Don't disagree with any of your points there. I personally don't have an issue with people smoking in their private residence, or outdoors in an open area away from others, or in designated spots you know to avoid if you don't like the smell.

          1 vote
      3. [3]
        sparksbet
        Link Parent
        As someone who has had people smoke both weed and cigarettes on the street or adjacent balconies near my apartment building, they're not particularly different in that sense. Ofc that doesn't stop...

        As someone who has had people smoke both weed and cigarettes on the street or adjacent balconies near my apartment building, they're not particularly different in that sense. Ofc that doesn't stop people from freaking out in the building group chat about weed smell but trying to excuse their own tobacco smoke, despite our rental contract not distinguishing between the two and weed having recently been legalized here.

        4 votes
        1. [2]
          Foreigner
          Link Parent
          As I mentioned in my reply to vord, it might be a question of personal tolerance. Both would bother me, but weed has a particularly 'skunky' pungent smell that I imagine people are less tolerant...

          As I mentioned in my reply to vord, it might be a question of personal tolerance. Both would bother me, but weed has a particularly 'skunky' pungent smell that I imagine people are less tolerant of (could also be because they're less used to it). I'm not in your neighbours' heads so I can't say one way or another. But I suspect some people are complaining because it does bother them more. I wouldn't handwave the issue away because people will eventually start fighting against legal public weed smoking.

          3 votes
          1. sparksbet
            Link Parent
            Personally I'm bothered a lot more by tobacco smoke, but I understand that it can differ. Our building is brand new with fantastic ventilation, so closing the windows completely blocks both smells...

            Personally I'm bothered a lot more by tobacco smoke, but I understand that it can differ. Our building is brand new with fantastic ventilation, so closing the windows completely blocks both smells out in my experience. My building has a lot of rich people who have a tendency to overreact in the group chat though (they immediately started talking about how it was forbidden and complaining to our landlord, even though it isn't in our rental contract), so I'm perhaps less sympathetic than I would be otherwise.

            2 votes
    2. balooga
      Link Parent
      This isn’t realistic but coming through the pandemic I was hopeful that HVAC overhauls with high-quality air purification systems would become more widespread. My household was pretty...

      This isn’t realistic but coming through the pandemic I was hopeful that HVAC overhauls with high-quality air purification systems would become more widespread. My household was pretty covid-cautious and we picked up a hospital-grade unit for our living room, with multiple filters and a UV antiviral component. A nice perk of that is it also helps with VOCs and clears out unpleasant smells pretty rapidly.

      At the time I saw plenty of articles about how commercial spaces were being retrofitted to improve ventilation and air quality. I had hoped that would become the norm, but here we are.

      6 votes
    3. [2]
      public
      Link Parent
      I second your opinion on weed smoke. Very strong but not as irritating as tobacco. The only cigarettes whose secondhand smoke is not immediately repulsive to me are unfiltered Paul Mauls...

      I second your opinion on weed smoke. Very strong but not as irritating as tobacco. The only cigarettes whose secondhand smoke is not immediately repulsive to me are unfiltered Paul Mauls (nostalgia for my grandmother) and clove cigarettes some friends of a fraternity brother used to smoke by our garage. I hate everything else.

      Weed is weed.

      5 votes
  2. [7]
    vord
    (edited )
    Link
    There are many different aspects to the problem, and one of the core problems being that consumption restricted to in or around ones residence. Especially in dense urban areas. Having designated...

    There are many different aspects to the problem, and one of the core problems being that consumption restricted to in or around ones residence. Especially in dense urban areas.

    Having designated public spaces akin to bars, like hookah bars, could potentially help. Especially if they're properly ventilated.

    The pot shop near me doesn't smell like pot.

    Imagine having something like a fully enclosed bus shelter with a proper ventilation chimney that goes 50 ft up. That would drastically reduce the amount of street-level smell as the wind currents would lift it away.

    For the smokers among us, vape flower with the best vape you can afford. It's easier on your lungs than smoking and smells much less bad. Store your weed in a few layers of airtight containers, preferrably with a proper lock if you have kids.

    The assorted concentrates are deadly and are directly attributable to many of the recent medical problems we've heard so much about.

    Edit: Also, lets bear in mind that largely, this population would have been (or was) smoking weed before decriminalization. They just don't need to try to conceal it like they're about to bury a body anymore. Bet incense sales are down a solid 10%.

    In that sense, the general public should kind of wake up to 'holy shit a lot of people like smoking weed,' and not act like it's just the one pothead nextdoor.

    13 votes
    1. teaearlgraycold
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Definitely agree with vaping. It's many times less strong of a scent.

      Definitely agree with vaping. It's many times less strong of a scent.

      5 votes
    2. [5]
      TommyTenToes
      Link Parent
      I don't believe a smoking shelter would be culturally accepted in my city (nor affordable) and I would worry that allowing public smoking would ruin the areas I frequent for recreation, especially...

      I don't believe a smoking shelter would be culturally accepted in my city (nor affordable) and I would worry that allowing public smoking would ruin the areas I frequent for recreation, especially any outdoor patios.

      It's so interesting to me that people continue to choose combusting over vaporizing or using concentrates. The other two options are higher value, more convenient, smell significantly less, still provide flavor (in many cases a better flavor), and provide a cleaner high (this part may be undesirable to people seeking a groggy/almost drunk mental state). If I had to guess, it's mostly the cool factor of joints/blunts and the fact that many grew up smoking this way.

      I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say concentrates are deadly. Do you mean the cartridges that were using harmful solvents? In that case I totally agree. However, if you trust your source due to personal relationships or third party lab testing (which fortunately is becoming commonplace) then there should be no health concerns and I would argue it's the healthiest form of inhaling cannabis.

      2 votes
      1. Felicity
        Link Parent
        I've taken to using a high quality one hitter with a filter, and even at half capacity it gets me thoroughly high with only a puff or two and feels significantly cleaner than joints. I've also...

        I've taken to using a high quality one hitter with a filter, and even at half capacity it gets me thoroughly high with only a puff or two and feels significantly cleaner than joints. I've also reduced my weed intake to the point where I'm left with a vast excess every month and had to considerably reduce my order as a result. For people who enjoy smoking or are used to it, I cannot recommend the switch enough.

        I'm sure it's not perfect and it's not as good as vaporizing, but it's definitely a way to get on track towards it. In my mind if people weren't rolling 0.3g joints and smoking them outside, but just burning a miniscule amount once, it would help with the smell too.

        3 votes
      2. [2]
        vord
        Link Parent
        Bear in mind it's being found the concentrates are associated with a significant increase in acute respiratory failure. I've also heard of increasing rates of allergic reaction from ultra high THC...

        using concentrates

        Bear in mind it's being found the concentrates are associated with a significant increase in acute respiratory failure.

        I've also heard of increasing rates of allergic reaction from ultra high THC concentrate consuption, though thats been ancedotal best I can tell.

        1. wervenyt
          Link Parent
          PSA: As your cited study notes, most (94%) of such cases are assumed to be attributable to contamination with vitamin E acetate. That chemical has a superficial resemblance to oxidised THC...

          PSA: As your cited study notes, most (94%) of such cases are assumed to be attributable to contamination with vitamin E acetate. That chemical has a superficial resemblance to oxidised THC distillate, and so is fairly regularly used as a filler by black market vendors to save some money.

          This isn't to say that people haven't purchased adulterated cartridges from legal dispensaries, but vitamin E is easy to test for. If you (reader) are scared by this information in a legal jurisdiction, there are other types of concentrate products with a much lower risk of such contamination, and many trustworthy producers and retailers happy to provide contaminant screening results, if you take the time to seek them out. If you are in a jurisdiction where cannabis is illegal, the best advice is not to purchase any distillate, and especially not carts.

          4 votes
      3. frostycakes
        Link Parent
        You'd be surprised at just how many people are hitting carts when they're out and about. That's the main selling point of them, IMO. They're discreet enough that most people cannot tell you're...

        You'd be surprised at just how many people are hitting carts when they're out and about. That's the main selling point of them, IMO. They're discreet enough that most people cannot tell you're doing anything but vaping unless they're up close or it's a super terpene heavy live rosin cartridge, and even those dissipate quickly.

        Back when I was taking transit to work, I'd keep a battery and cart in my backpack that I'd hit while waiting for the train to head home, and I was never the only one doing so IME.

        I still use them at home to help me fall asleep, as my partner and I have a roommate who doesn't partake, so I want to minimize the smell for her. I do vape flower in our garage or when I'm out camping/hiking, and for the latter I'll bring some joints too, as the high is undeniably different between all of these consumption methods, and a joint is just something I've always done on camping trips since a friend and I would go on them back in high school.

  3. ackables
    Link
    I'm not anti-weed or anything. People can smoke if they want to, but people should be more respectful about it. If you aren't allowed to smoke cigarettes in your apartment, why would smoking weed...

    I'm not anti-weed or anything. People can smoke if they want to, but people should be more respectful about it. If you aren't allowed to smoke cigarettes in your apartment, why would smoking weed be any different. Sometimes I just wonder what the matter with people is. It's like people have forgotten how to live in a society. As long as you take reasonable steps to prevent any negative externalities from smoking, it's not an issue.

    12 votes
  4. TheBeardedSingleMalt
    (edited )
    Link
    I smoked my weight in weed in high school and college, and am rather pro-legislation (within reason obviously). I'm not at the "get off my lawn" age yet but even I'm not a fan walking anywhere in...

    I smoked my weight in weed in high school and college, and am rather pro-legislation (within reason obviously). I'm not at the "get off my lawn" age yet but even I'm not a fan walking anywhere in public and getting a big pungent whiff of pot. And it still throws me off a tad when I got outside to take out the trash and can smell it from the porch of the renters next door.

    12 votes
  5. Foreigner
    Link
    This article resonates for me. I don't do drugs, but I'm pro legalisation of some drugs and decriminalisation of others. With that said, I find the smell of marijuana incredibly unpleasant...

    This article resonates for me. I don't do drugs, but I'm pro legalisation of some drugs and decriminalisation of others. With that said, I find the smell of marijuana incredibly unpleasant especially as it lingers in the air. It was particularly flagrant when I travelled to New York a couple of years ago and the smell was everywhere. At one point I was walking around at 6am and the smell was still there even though I couldn't see anyone around (I wondered if there's a secret underground population of marijuana smoking people). If I'd taken a drug test after that trip I'm not entirely certain I wouldn't have tested positive for marijuana...

    10 votes
  6. BeanBurrito
    (edited )
    Link
    I never used cannabis. I'm pretty much straight edge all around. When I read people complaining about cannabis being legal, the complaints are always about the smell. I am blessed with a weak...

    I never used cannabis. I'm pretty much straight edge all around.

    When I read people complaining about cannabis being legal, the complaints are always about the smell.

    I am blessed with a weak sense of smell.

    5 votes
  7. [9]
    Maelstrom
    Link
    I make edibles using a sous vide method for the butter and that is as odourless as you’re going to get. Of course better for your lungs as well.

    I make edibles using a sous vide method for the butter and that is as odourless as you’re going to get. Of course better for your lungs as well.

    2 votes
    1. [6]
      vord
      Link Parent
      A PSA for Texans. Don't cook your weed.

      A PSA for Texans. Don't cook your weed.

      6 votes
      1. Maelstrom
        Link Parent
        Wow doing it by total weight is brutal

        Wow doing it by total weight is brutal

        4 votes
      2. drannex
        Link Parent
        Same for Arkansas. Absolutely dreadful law to consider the entirety of an edible to be the effective weight of cannabis.

        Same for Arkansas. Absolutely dreadful law to consider the entirety of an edible to be the effective weight of cannabis.

        2 votes
      3. [3]
        FluffyKittens
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Texas has a weird Cannabis-Lite thing going on nowadays, actually - Delta-9 edibles are legal in Texas, as long as they’re <0.3% THC by dry mass. They’re sold in stores where you can pay with...

        Texas has a weird Cannabis-Lite thing going on nowadays, actually - Delta-9 edibles are legal in Texas, as long as they’re <0.3% THC by dry mass. They’re sold in stores where you can pay with credit card and they’re not terribly larger than usual gummies per dose.

        Definitely not smart to test the limits cooking at home though.

        https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/flash-briefing/2019/04/23/state-house-gives-initial-nod-to-hemp-farming-in-texas/5359066007/

        1 vote
        1. [2]
          solgrove
          Link Parent
          I'm pretty sure that's nation-wide - I travel for work and have bought legal flower in TX, SC, and NC so far and it's all the same. edit - Cooking with it would be a bad idea, legally speaking....

          I'm pretty sure that's nation-wide - I travel for work and have bought legal flower in TX, SC, and NC so far and it's all the same.

          edit - Cooking with it would be a bad idea, legally speaking. Delta-9 flower skirts the law by being low in THC but high in THCA, which turns to THC when decarbed (aka heated) so a weed brownie with D9 would be nearly identical to one with normal THC.

          1. kovboydan
            Link Parent
            Does “Delta-9 flower” here refer to “hemp” bud sold in a non-legal state under the farm bill loop hole? D9 is regular ol’ THC, so “Delta-9 flower” would seem to mean “regular ol’ weed.” THCA does...

            Does “Delta-9 flower” here refer to “hemp” bud sold in a non-legal state under the farm bill loop hole?

            D9 is regular ol’ THC, so “Delta-9 flower” would seem to mean “regular ol’ weed.” THCA does decarb to THC, and some legal states have “Total THC” which covers THCA and THC, others only THC.

            For farm bill/non-legal states, there’s some USDA stuff about it, specifically their Laboratory Testing Guidelines U.S. Domestic Hemp Production:

            1.8 At a minimum, analytical testing of samples for total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels must use post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods approved by the Secretary in writing. The testing methodology must consider the potential conversion of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in hemp into delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and the test result must reflect the total available THC derived from the sum of the THC and THCA content.

            1 vote
    2. [2]
      teaearlgraycold
      Link Parent
      It's a shame it's a different drug once it passes through your liver, so the effects are different.

      It's a shame it's a different drug once it passes through your liver, so the effects are different.

      1 vote
      1. Maelstrom
        Link Parent
        I understand the difference physiologically, but apart from duration and intensity I don’t really notice a difference in the actual effect. Do you?

        I understand the difference physiologically, but apart from duration and intensity I don’t really notice a difference in the actual effect. Do you?

        3 votes