Woman sues neighbors over marijuana smell, claims public nuisance
from
As marijuana legalization spreads across the country, more and more people are enjoying smoking the plant in the comfort of their homes. Some use it recreationally, others for medicinal purposes. However, secondhand smoke affects people.
Josefa Ippolito-Hirte is one of them. She is bothered by the smell of cannabis wafting from her neighbor’s house into her own. She claims cleaning doesn’t help, and anyone who’s dealt with weed knows the smoke can be strong. So much so that the unpleasant aroma interferes with their sleep and everyday life.
She tried to ask her neighbor to stop the indoor kindling. She then asked the landlord to vacate the smoker, but that didn’t happen.
Photo by BraunS/Getty
Ippolito-Shepherd has lived in Cleveland Park, a DC neighborhood, for 30 years but claims the attack on it was reckless, writes The Washington Post.
Until cannabis became legal, she had the option to call the police and have her neighbor arrested. so what now? According to DC Council chair Phil Mendelson, the only way to solve the problem is to reverse marijuana legalization. So Ippolito-Shepherd went to court, where she argued that the smell was a public nuisance.
RELATED: Cautious pot-loving parents! This disease is on the rise in legal weed states
The trial is believed to be the first of its kind so far to be conducted in a district court.
“I have the right to breathe fresh air in my home,” Ippolito-Shepherd told the Washington Post before the trial. “I’m not talking about going to someone else’s house or going to a place where people smoke weed. You have the freedom to do anything. I just don’t want to be invaded in my own home.”
As anti-smoking groups fight to ban smoking in homes and apartment buildings, the question remains — is this fair for medical marijuana patients? Where can you use your medicine?
Photo by Viktor Talashuk via Unsplash
RELATED: Second-hand bong smoke is way more toxic than tobacco — here’s why
To complicate matters further, Brooke Hoots, an epidemiologist at the CDC, says that second-hand marijuana smoke contains the same cancer-causing toxins as second-hand tobacco smoke.
How can this be resolved for the good of all? No one knows, but one thing is certain: As more states adopt cannabis, similar lawsuits are to be expected.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
Post a comment: