# Pot smoking neighbors - what to do? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808 "2010-11-16T01:13:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/41 "2010-11-16T07:53:17Z")
You’re the only asswipe playing at the moment. And you aren’t playing well, because you completely missed the point. Go fellate a goat. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/42 "2010-11-16T07:55:36Z")
More! More! More! This is fun. Let’s see what else you can come up with. Asswipes, twats, kissing asses, fellating goats! You are some kind of comedy genius. Seriously, where do you get your material? ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/43 "2010-11-16T11:57:18Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > This is a case where the OP should probably just mind his own business. There are worse things that can happen to somebody than having to smell pot smoke in an apartment building hallway. That’s apartment living. He should probably just ask them if he can blaze up with them. They’d all end up a lot happier. If it were just the hallway, I suspect it wouldn’t be as big a deal. I have a similar problem in my building and it’s ridiculous that _my_ home smells like a fucking skunk because my neighbors are potheads. Thankfully it doesn’t happen daily, and we are saving up to move, though that isn’t the only reason for us leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/44 "2010-11-16T12:24:31Z")
If the smell is that strong, they could be _ **growing** _ the stuff [in their apartment,](http://www.google.nl/images?q=wiet+kwekerij+in+een+kast&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=nl&tab=wi&biw=1680&bih=959) not just smoking it. That is much more seriously illegal stuff and could explain why they were such assholes about it when you came to their door. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/45 "2010-11-16T13:39:16Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > This, I do not believe. I think you’re bullshitting. I have had a pretty fair exposure, over the years, soaking myself and my clothes, permeating, marinating. No one has ever, ever said that I smell like pot. Taking my exposure as a benchmark, I’m trying to imagine smoke wafting from another apartment with such intensity as to render your clothes redolent, so redolent that other people will notice. Can’t happen. Its herb, it ain’t mustard gas. > > Balderdash, sir! Tommyrot! Nope sorry I’m voting with the OP on this one. In my younger cooler years I lived in a fairly modern condo building in downtown Toronto. The units were fairly quiet, lots of noise insulation so I expected that I wouldn’t have too many issues with the neighbors until THEY moved in. Good god, the wafting of smoke from their unit was so thick you could actually see it in the hallways. I was working on a government client at the time and my boss requested that I leave my work clothes in the gym and shower and change there until it was resolved, the smell was that bad. I had to have everything dry cleaned before leaving them there even. Luckily this was 4-5 years before I developed the “smell MJ, start migraine” phase of my life or I would have been much more miserable. For the OP. We called the landlord, the police and finally moved out 5 months later at the end of our lease. When we left our neighbors were still dealing with it. I suspect that after a few more left they finally dealt with the source of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/46 "2010-11-16T13:46:20Z")
I know someone in NYC who’s smoking was disturbing the neighbors. The neighbors called the police. The police made a phone call to my friend ---------the gist of the call was basically “don’t make us come over there, buddy”. He worked on containing the smell and everyone was happy. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/47 "2010-11-16T13:54:00Z")
I don’t find the claim of the smell permeating clothes unbelievable. I had two coworkers who worked opposite days but shared a desk. One of them would take his lunch hour, go out to his car and smoke as much marijuana as he possibly could (it was the midnight shift). When the second coworker came in later in the week if he didn’t change which desk chair he used his wife would complain about the pot smell when he came home. Does that prove the situation is as described by the OP? Of course not, but depending on how much they’re smoking and how air tight the apartments are I don’t find it unbelievable. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/48 "2010-11-16T13:58:30Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > As usual, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. If the cops knock on the door, they open it, and a cop sees pot, or the guy hitting the bong, that’s plain view. If the cops knock on the door, they aren’t going to leave a bong out in view. That part of the OP’s story isn’t particularly believable. Pot heads know to hide the bong when somebody knocks on the door. That’s not speculation on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/49 "2010-11-16T14:08:54Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > And now they know who to blame if the cops show up. > > No win situation. Move. This is my opinion, vacate the premises. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/50 "2010-11-16T14:13:48Z")
I say: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! Like, at the flagpole after lunch or something! Yeah! Kick his ass high-school style! Seriously though…unless you’ve got the balls to escalate this to a point beyond their level of mellowed-out toleration, and maintain that for a while, like literally shitting in a bag and burning it at their door EVERY DAY, they won’t stop. Ever. So get real nasty, or get over it. The cops won’t do shit unless you’ve got a good friend who’s a cop, who’s willing to put on a show and make the stoners scared. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/51 "2010-11-16T14:53:19Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If the cops knock on the door, they aren’t going to leave a bong out in view. That part of the OP’s story isn’t particularly believable. Pot heads know to hide the bong when somebody knocks on the door. That’s not speculation on my part. Yeah, you’re incorrect. While some know to hide the bong, a whole bunch of them don’t. ---
**Author:** ![ratmanizhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5ac83/32.png) [@ratmanizhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratmanizhere)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/52 "2010-11-16T14:53:36Z")
If you get pulled over by the cops for some type of moving violation and your clothes “reek” of the smell of pot, do you think the cops are going to believe you when you say it’s your neighbors smoking it and not you? Discuss it with your landlord and if they won’t do anything about it, then just move. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/53 "2010-11-16T14:54:49Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If the cops knock on the door, they aren’t going to leave a bong out in view. That part of the OP’s story isn’t particularly believable. Pot heads know to hide the bong when somebody knocks on the door. That’s not speculation on my part. Heh. Once when I was in college, I called the cops on a noise disturbance down the hallway from me. This was at 2 am, and the music coming from the apartment was loud enough to be clearly heard inside my room with the door closed. I went out into the hallway, and found another neighbor already banging on the door. I tried as well, but no response from inside, although we could hear the music (obviously) and also the sound of laughing. Fine, fuckers. She went back to her apartment and called the cops; I did the same. Cops showed up about 15 minutes later. They tried the same “pounding on the door” tactic we’d used, except with the addition of yelling, “This is the police! Open up! This is the police!” several times. Finally someone opened the door, to reveal several dudes openly smoking from a bong in the room behind them. Don’t know what happened after that, as the police shooed me and the neighbor back to our apartments. But yeah, not all potheads are bright enough to hide their stash when the cops are at the door, clearly. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/54 "2010-11-16T15:53:40Z")
I dunno about sticking to your clothes from second-hand, but some kinds of pot - particularly hydroponic “skunk” weed - really, really stinks, with a massively lingering, clinging stench when it is smoked. If you are ‘marinating’ yourself in _that_ stuff, and think others don’t smell it on your clothes, you are fooling yourself. 😉 The stuff reeks even when it isn’t being smoked (hence the nick). ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/55 "2010-11-16T15:55:56Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Hell, I spent a year living through petty retaliation over the goddamned neighbor kid running up and down the halls from 10:30pm to 1am just about every night before they were finally evicted. They did finally get evicted? Awesome! > [@elucidator](#): > > I have had a pretty fair exposure, over the years, soaking myself and my clothes, permeating, marinating. No one has ever, ever said that I smell like pot. Yeah, because they were polite. They probably \*also \*didn’t tell you when you had food in your teeth or forgot to put on deoderant because you were rushing out the door or were farting a lot that day. > [@even\_sven](#): > > Nobody has ever won a fight against a neighbor I’ve gotten people to shut up loud parties in the middle of the night when I need to wake up for work by hammering on their doors and asking nicely. But that’s not really a fight, I guess, since their response was “Oh, sorry, okay.” > [@ratmanizhere](#): > > If you get pulled over by the cops for some type of moving violation and your clothes “reek” of the smell of pot, do you think the cops are going to believe you when you say it’s your neighbors smoking it and not you? Well, if you beg them to follow you back to your apartment and bust your neighbors, they might. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/56 "2010-11-16T15:58:46Z")
Do you have drug tests at work? If so, you’ll need to mention this there. You don’t want to be fired because you smell of pot. Something along the lines of, “Boss, one of my neighbours is stinking out the complex with pot, and it’s got into my flat. I’ve spoken to the police and the case number for it is X.” Make sure this is in writing. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/57 "2010-11-16T16:15:11Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > This is a case where the OP should probably just mind his own business. There are worse things that can happen to somebody than having to smell pot smoke in an apartment building hallway. That’s apartment living. He should probably just ask them if he can blaze up with them. They’d all end up a lot happier. I can’t agree with this. Second hand marijuana smoke could possibly cause a person to fail a drug test, resulting in loss of employment or who knows what. \*\*Kafoo’s \*\*neighbors are a nuisance and calling the cops would be appropriate. I’ve never heard of a situation where the cops just told pot smokers to knock it off. I’ve known multiple people who were arrested for possession. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/58 "2010-11-16T16:20:16Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Second hand marijuana smoke could possibly cause a person to fail a drug test… Has this ever really happened? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/59 "2010-11-16T16:45:54Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I can’t agree with this. Second hand marijuana smoke could possibly cause a person to fail a drug test, resulting in loss of employment or who knows what. I don’t think it can do _that_, I just think it is goddam obnoxious to stink up the place to the point it annoys the neighbours and then to tell them to fuck off when they complain, and would be even if the activity in question where perfectly legal. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808/60 "2010-11-16T16:55:55Z")
I really can’t believe that people are suggesting that the OP should move away. That’s ridiculous. No one should have to be forced to inhale someone else’s smoke, whether it’s legal or illegal. First of all, pot smoke _will_ make your clothes stink, albeit temporarily. If you simply walk outside for a minute, the smell will go away. But it’s the forced inhalation of 2nd hand smoke that’s not fair, and cannot be tolerated. Would any of you suggest that the OP be more tolerant if his kids had to walk through a cloud of marijuana smoke every time they came in or out? To the OP: If the smoker you saw is a resident, and was truly that much of a douchebag to you, I’d call the cops and tell them that you suspect that they’re dealing pot out of that apartment. At the very least, it would scare them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-smoking-neighbors-what-to-do/560808.md?page=4)