Someone in one of the houses close to mine (and in San Francisco, houses are VERY close) smokes a perfectly legal substance, pot, from time to time. How do I know this? Because the aroma and the smoke make their way into either my garage (through the garage door vents) in the front of the house, or into my bedroom (via an open window) in the back of the house, and thence into the whole downstairs.
I have asthma. This smoke is much more insidious than cigarette smoke, it gets everywhere, and it seems to last for a long time. It catches my throat and makes me want to cough. A friend was here once when the smoke was around and said it was good quality stuff. Perhaps needless to say, I am unable to appreciate the quality of said substance, because it tends to interfere with my ability to breathe comfortably.
No doubt some pot smokers among you will say I’m over-reacting, a priggish old man who doesn’t like other people having fun. On the other hand, the pot smoker in question has almost certainly been banished to the outdoors for this dirty task because the others in the house don’t want the house stunk up with it. And considering the number of other ways (or so I’ve heard) that there are to enjoy pot, why not try a method that doesn’t bother the other people around you?
There you have it, a pointless question to end a pointless rant.
As someone with asthma, I’d say close your windows. There could be lots of things that trigger you from the outside.
Also, pot smoking guy is being considerate as possible. He’s smoking outside to not bother his housemates. And he’s smoking on his own property to not be a nuisance to the general public.
I understand your rant, and feel for you. The irritation from a neighbor’s (perfectly legal) pastime oozing its way into my home is a very real thing, often with no way to fight it.
I have no advice, just a sympathetic ear. Here’s wishing for strong winds from the direction which will help.
Yeah, pot is legallish here in DC and this is a common problem. One way that booze is better than pot is that your neighbors don’t have to smell it until you puke on their lawn.
Invest in a couple of box fans. You seem to know the points it’s seeping in through. If air is blowing out of those points, instead of in, you’ll achieve what you want. Lots of fans come with remote controls these days.
I mean if neighbour just pops out to smoke a joint, that’s like 10 minutes you need to run your fans to redirect the smoke. Doesn’t seem undoable.
I am told that the term “skunk weed” properly refers to one specific strain, specially bred for potency. That seems to be the only variety anyone in my town ever smokes. That stuff reeks worse than cheap cigars.
Someone in my neighborhood smokes weed in their garage. I think they come home from work and smoke every day at 5, while I’m walking the dog. The house is on a street with 100’-wide and 100’ deep plots and you can smell it 4 or 5 houses each way, from the street. It’s at most 2 adults smoking.
I don’t mind that they do it but damn, that smell travels! I would not like to be their neighbor. The neighbor on one side has a pool, I wonder if it will cause a problem this summer when she has her grandkids over to swim.
Could you politely ask the neighbor if there is a spot he could smoke that isn’t near your vents? Play up the “I have an actual medical condition” angle so he knows you’re not just grumpy. And I concur, if you have bad asthma, opening windows is probably not a great idea in general.
I’m not suggesting you litigate, but here’s how the CA law looks at secondhand smoke vis-a-vis your home (15pp PDF):
[this may or may not apply to single family/attached vs. detached, but the law gives an idea of what society considers to be “the line”]
I just … feel for you. Your health shouldn’t have to be at risk because of somebody else’s personal choices – particularly not with the kind of densities in SF.
Actually, Pub Med doesn’t agree or disagree with any scientific/medical proposition. It’s a government database of published articles.
The article you linked to says in part: “Cannabis has a bronchodilator effect on the airways and might have an anti-inflammatory effect on asthmatic patients. However, harmful effects on the lungs are mainly attributed to smoking and include airway irritation and the development of chronic bronchitis symptoms.”
From MedPage Today:
“Smoking cannabis can cause [the same symptoms as smoking tobacco, even when people smoke cannabis alone, possibly because smoke from cannabis and tobacco have similar properties.”
“These effects can be particularly hazardous for people with asthma.”
According to the American Lung Association:
“Smoke from marijuana combustion has been shown to contain many of the same toxins, irritants and carcinogens as tobacco smoke.”
Whether or not ingredients in cannabis may be helpful in alleviating asthma has still not been firmly established. But smoking pot is an especially dubious way to improve lung function.
Good luck to the OP in getting the pot smoker to do his thing at a distance from the OP’s vents and windows. The smoker’s reaction to being approached is likely to be similar to that of tobacco smokers asked not to congregate outside buildings and create a cloud of smoke for visitors to walk through.
I’m not going to close my windows, the air here is pretty clean most of the time and I hate being closed in with no fresh air. If this happens once or twice a week, it is worth the tradeoff to me.
I’m not sure even which house it’s coming from, let alone who in the house is smoking, so suggestions for direct interaction are off the table for that reason alone. There are other reasons which are moot at this point.
Thank you, I appreciate it. My rant was pointless because there really is no solution, at least as things stand now.
As are any suggestions to ask said unknown person to stay away from any vents or windows. Apparently this unknown person is nowhere near enough for this to work.
I thought the fan idea was excellent. You do not have to know where exactly the smoke is coming from, just have a small fan or two in the back of the house blowing out… and maybe one in a front room blowing in. We do that when we smell anything outside (but for us, it’s garbage, or pollen, or road work… and we have a neighbor constantly doing construction).
The key is having a fan(s) draw air IN from where there is clean air, together with exhaust fans blowing outward. Create a cross flow of air in your home — this may be possible such that the cross flow is stronger than the prevailing winds in The City. Which can be strong. The input fans must be strong. Without strong input fans, the exhaust fans will simply circulate air at and near your exhaust ports, and some of that air will flow back in.
I would write a letter and place it in the doorways of all neighbors who may be the cause of the smoke. The wording should be something like:
Dear Neighbor, I live at [address] and have chronic asthma that is aggravated by marijuana smoke. I don’t know where it’s coming from, but the odor of marijuana is seeping into my house on a regular basis. If you, or someone you know, may be the cause of this, I would appreciate distancing yourself from my house when you smoke. I have no problem with lifestyle choices and want to be a good neighbor, but this is a medical problem that adversely affects my breathing. Thanks in advance for your help in this matter.
Not a bad idea. Easier than distributing the note to the neighborhood might be to just post it near the offending garage vent. That also gives more practical and specific advice than “distance yourself from my house”.
Back in my smoking days, one of my contacts use to have the best smelling skunk weed around. Some was good, some was the equivalent to Nebraska No-high. The smell of weed really does not equate to potency.