Neighbors smoking weed

[MeketatenBun]

I just can’t win with apartment living =(

So my boyfriend and I found a place where Meki can come live with us! We were planning on bringing her in at the end of summer so we’re not transporting her during the summer- my A/C doesn’t work in my car and it’s miserable enough for humans let alone a Meki.

Problem is, my neighbors, one of three other units in the building, are smoking marijuana. Conveniently only when the management office is closed. I’ve contacted the management already and because they’re not sure who it is, they posted signs on every door about “personal smoking” being brought to management’s attention while professionally cleaning the hallway’s carpets and having the hallway door open for a week to let things air out and it generally got better. But for the past week, I’ve been noticing the smell drifting into my apartment again through the vents. If we turn on the A/C, heat, or even the fans, skunk weed smell comes blowing into our unit. 

We also have been preparing to bring in a baby cockatiel, so a bunny and a cockatiel with sensitivities to smells in a unit where the weed smokers can’t stop smoking weed. 

We have no idea which unit is doing it, so I can’t go myself to ask them to stop- not that I would anyway. The last group of weed smokers I lived with were very confrontational if someone brought up problems with their habit. We’ve contacted the landlord once already, but they also don’t know who’s doing it. I’m at a complete loss of what we can do other than force ourselves through the smell and leave Meki at my parents and don’t get the bird, but we’ve already invested hundreds of dollars on the bird and supplies already.

We’re in Wisconsin where smoking is prohibited by law in communal spaces of apartments, and the apartment complex is strictly smoke-free inside the units. Of course, since marijuana is illegal in Wisconsin still, no one’s going to go outside to smoke it, so they’re doing it inside the building. I’m half guessing they’re blowing it into the ventilation ducts thinking it takes it outside or something.

What do I doooo?

[Sarita]

Call the police – simple as that…it’s illegal.

[MeketatenBun]

I’m just worried the cops will tell me there’s nothing they can do unless they catch them smoking it. I’ve called in a noise complaint with the cops in this city and the neighbors turned off their music each time the cops came around- the cops told us since there was no noise, there was nothing they could do.

[LBJ10]

I find it strange that the vents are all connected. Is this an apartment building or a house converted to apartments. Are the utilities paid? Or do you have to pay the heating/cooling bill?

[Shannon]

Just as a side note other things can cause that skunky smell (not saying it isn’t smoke lol!). For instance if its always in the evening and more particularly is only strong once a week because Lets be honest those people smoking into their adult years probably aren’t smoking just once a week. Other things that can cause that smell include Mop and Glow, old and moldy duct work (ask when it was last cleaned), some ants, clogged sewer vents Just an idea. Previously living in an apartment the person in the apartment above mine was a HEAVY smoker I would suggest an air purifier they work wonders!

[AaronJ]

for potential conflict reasons, I wouldn’t suggest calling the cops, try to sort it out between you guys first maybe just casually mention you’re allergic and sneezing a lot. politely ask that they not smoke in the house, suggest going out to the car, other methods of consumption etc

[jerseygirl]

Ugh. Commiserations!
That smell makes me feel quite ill. Don’t do well with cigarette smoke either.

I agree about suggestion of getting an air purifier. That sounds like a good investment. I wonder if you can put some sort of filters in the apt vents also?

Doing those things that are within your control to improve the situation might help you guys until the smoking is resolved. Good luck!

[LopLover]

If you’re concerned about the effect it has on the animals, I’m a registered medical user in a state where it’s legal, I smoke out of my window when it’s too hot or too cold to go out, and I’ve never seen it have an effect on any of my animals. Of course, I don’t blow smoke in their faces. Igloo actually seems to quite like the smell of weed, and my vape if it’s something fruit, and always tries to get as close to me as possible if I’m smoking or vaping.
The main concern I would have to is smoke actively getting to your pets. Because they’re so small, they can’t metabolize THC, which makes it dangerous for them. But I will say that unless you’re apartment is getting hot boxed by the vent system, the smoke to air ratio is too high (no pun intended) to get you or your animals high.
As for the smell, if you can’t track down your neighbors and get them to stop (you can take a gentle approach and ask if maybe they could use a smoke buddy, which catches the smells) then I recommend either buying fresh cut lavender or potted lavender and keeping it around the apartment. Lavender smells very strong and is often what’s planted around grow houses to cover the smell of the plants. Hope this helps!!!

[Hazel]

LopLover: Lucky you! Except for your medical issue of course, I hope it’s nothing serious. I wish it was legal here, I’m tired of taking Ibuprofen for my back. The hubby has bad nerve pain at times from diabetes, he could use it too.

Don’t vaporizers reduce the smell a lot? That could be suggested to them if you ever find out who’s doing it, Meketatenbun. Other than that, I guess your best bet is getting an air purifier as others have said.

[Stickerbunny]

You’re not going to get them to stop, unless you catch them and get the landlord to threaten. Which would mean figuring out where it’s coming from. Which is near impossible if there are a lot of units.

Second hand smoke of ANY kind is bad for the lungs of animals though. Especially birds. X-rays of birds that have lived with smokers of any type that “seemed fine” showed damage and makes them prone to respiratory infections / whistling noises when they breath after long term exposure. Marijuana smoke isn’t as bad, due to the lack of additives they put in cigarettes (they put in things that make the nicotine get absorbed faster, which makes the second hand smoke much worse). But, still bad. My cockatiel if he even smells a little smoke from back burning the fields around here (farm area, I keep doors/windows shut but a little gets in) will make a “yawning” motion trying to clear his crop so he can breath easier, it’s so sad looking.

— Another note on their respiratory systems though is teflon cookware can be fatal (if it heats to a certain temp it releases toxic fumes that is a quick but painful death for them) and any chemical cleaners or air fresheners can also cause respiratory issues. They are VERY sensitive.

The good news is… if it’s just coming in from another apartment, air purifiers should take care of it. Last place we lived was an apartment and the downstairs neighbor smoked cigarettes AND weed. It would make our entire apartment reek. It was coming up through the floor in our bathroom, so if there is one room the smell is strongest, put the purifier there and try to keep the doors shut. We got a cheap $40 honeywell purifier and it got rid of most of the smell.

[LopLover]

Hazel, I just use it for my migraines and in some cases social anxiety. Medical use is actually federally legal now, I don’t know where you live or what your state requires of you in order to use it (here you just have to have a green card, which is basically a glorified doctors note and be in a database). But, if the hoops aren’t too much to jump through, I highly recommend it! It’s much better to consume your pain relievers in a natural way, rather than have to take pills.

Stickerbunny, not to be a stickler (lol) but it’s actually side stream smoke that poses the biggest threat to animals and other people. Side stream is the smoke that comes off a cigarette, or bowl, when it is not being puffed on. The particles in this type of smoke are much bigger – not having been inhaled and caught/absorbed by our lungs – but I would imagine if it’s not even coming from your home, most dangerous chemicals have been inadvertently filtered by the housing materials, and sheer distance. That being said, it sounds like Meketatebun’s neighbors are literally chiefing all day every day with the windows closed, because the smell of pot is really not one that lingers once the bowl is out.

It’s really too bad you don’t know who they are =[ Most people understand a lot more things when you relate to them with your pets.

[Tessie]

Tough luck, I can’t stand the smell, it reminds me of living in a dorm first year of uni… ahh!

[Stickerbunny]

Posted By LopLover on 7/06/2015 1:36 PM

Stickerbunny, not to be a stickler (lol) but it’s actually side stream smoke that poses the biggest threat to animals and other people. Side stream is the smoke that comes off a cigarette, or bowl, when it is not being puffed on. The particles in this type of smoke are much bigger – not having been inhaled and caught/absorbed by our lungs – but I would imagine if it’s not even coming from your home, most dangerous chemicals have been inadvertently filtered by the housing materials, and sheer distance. That being said, it sounds like Meketatebun’s neighbors are literally chiefing all day every day with the windows closed, because the smell of pot is really not one that lingers once the bowl is out.

The smell of pot most certainly lingers in the air well after it’s out. My downstairs neighbors worked, but the smell was in my apartment 24/7 from cigarettes and weed (and I had been in their apartment, it reeked of both, with nothing lit). And it caused ME respiratory distress (I have difficulty breathing around cigarette smoke), so I can only imagine the trouble it would cause a small animal. Smokers get used to it, so they don’t notice so much. My spouse used to smoke and I told him to NOT let anyone smoke ANYTHING in my car. But, he let his friend (who smoked both) cause he thought if the window was open and smoke was never blown in the car, it’d be fine, cause “you can’t smell it after a few minutes”… yeah, no. Two days later I got in my car and it REEKED, so he was busted. Even though he was all “HOW CAN YOU TELL? IT DOESN’T SMELL!” … to a smoker no, to a non-smoker oh yes it did.

The chemicals probably do get filtered through the walls somewhat (though, if it’s coming through vents/holes, not so much), however, the smoke and fumes themselves are dangerous to birds. Not just chemical additives (though, those are more harmful). And it only takes a small amount to harm a bird – that is why they used to use canaries in mines, as the canary would die long before it was at a dangerous level for a human. I doubt the small amount getting into the apartment will be dangerous to something as large as a rabbit (several pounds vs less than 100 grams). My spouse used to think “Oh, it’s just a little bit of smoke, it’s not going to hurt him” about my bird, but then he saw him spend over an hour stretching and “yawning”, trying to clear out his throat so he could breathe easily due to “a little smoke” getting into our home. Now, if he even scents smoke at all, he rushes to cover up all access he can to prevent our bird being distressed. He had the same behavior to the smoke as when we had a gas leak in our home, the bird was the first to scent it.

As I said, weed is not as harmful as cigarettes (no asbestos and various other things in a joint). But, I still would not want to bring a baby bird (40-60 grams) into a home where smoke and fumes from it are strong. Especially not if it’s illegal weed, as they do add weird chemicals to some of the street stuff. The medical/legal stuff is the least harmful.

And just a note: I am not against smoking whatever you want to, for whatever reason.

[Hazel]

Posted By LopLover on 7/06/2015 1:36 PM

Medical use is actually federally legal now, I don’t know where you live or what your state requires of you in order to use it (here you just have to have a green card, which is basically a glorified doctors note and be in a database). But, if the hoops aren’t too much to jump through, I highly recommend it! It’s much better to consume your pain relievers in a natural way, rather than have to take pills.

I know they passed a bill to protect states that legalize it from federal interference, but that doesn’t make it legal everywhere. As long as a state doesn’t move to legalize it, it’s still as prohibited as ever, in that state. They just passed a CBD bill here, but it doesn’t make it legal to produce, only possess, and of course it’s also illegal to bring it in from another state. There’s no way to acquire it without breaking the law. The only point of passing this was to make it look like they “did something” to help sick people, when in fact they didn’t do anything.

[BunsAndDolls]

I highly recommend and air filter. I used to live upstairs from smokers, and it did wonders. I’m allergic to cigarette smoke (makes my eyes swell up/drain, closes up my throat, generally not a good thing for my makeup, lol) and I can usually smell it immediately if someone lights up within 100 yards of me. I got a Honeywell purifier and it pretty much totally killed the smell. I put dryer sheets in the air vents, and ran that thing all the time, and everything was fine.

[Stickerbunny]

Posted By BunsAndDolls on 7/06/2015 4:08 PM

I highly recommend and air filter. I used to live upstairs from smokers, and it did wonders. I’m allergic to cigarette smoke (makes my eyes swell up/drain, closes up my throat, generally not a good thing for my makeup, lol) and I can usually smell it immediately if someone lights up within 100 yards of me. I got a Honeywell purifier and it pretty much totally killed the smell. I put dryer sheets in the air vents, and ran that thing all the time, and everything was fine.

Another thing to do is make sure you have a good air filter in your A/C as well. In our apartment, the filter was on the wall in the hallway… but call your maintenance department to ask where you might find it. That way some stuff gets filtered out of the air there as well.

[Sarita]

We are not here to debate the issue of smoking pot or anything for that matter! I think we are getting a bit off topic here and I’m not sure what we can do at this point to really help MBun with her concerns since she seems to be concerned about the police as well….

[MeketatenBun]

I’m sorry I haven’t been on recently, but thank you everyone for your input.

Unfortunately over 4th of July, they were smoking all day. I tried going in the hall, outside, everywhere trying to pinpoint where it was coming from, but the only real source was the vents in my apartment, the hallway, and the basement. When my boyfriend came home yesterday, the smell was overwhelming as soon as he walked into our apartment.

We went into the office today, but unfortunately they said they’ve done all they can and suggest calling the cops next time we smell it. We were really banking on this apartment being our last in this city before we move, so we may have to look into an air purifier as many of you have suggested, and keeping the bird cage as far away from the vents as possible. I will keep an eye out for him doing that “stretching” motion, but we might need to improvise with dryer sheets and the purifier especially during winter when we use those vents for heat. As for Meki, I don’t feel comfortable moving her four hours across the state to an apartment that smells like this, especially since her cage, and the vents, are on the floor.

I agree though, to a non-smoker and small animals, the smell is awful and very noticeable. We asked, and no more 1 bedroom units are available at the moment to move. But we will definitely invest in an air purifier, and seeing as how our apartment is never visibly smokey or unbearable even when it does smell, hopefully that will solve things for us. If it does get awful, though, we’re going to have to figure out a way to call the cops and say “we have no idea who’s doing it, but it’s one of these three units in this hallway”. Wish us luck that the purifier does it for us!

[Hazel]

Posted By MeketatenBun on 7/07/2015 1:02 PM

We went into the office today, but unfortunately they said they’ve done all they can and suggest calling the cops next time we smell it.

That doesn’t seem right at all. They don’t get to wash their hands of it just because they put up some fliers. You’re paying them rent and in return you’re entitled to appropriate living conditions. I don’t know if you’re willing to find a new place to live or withhold rent over this, but it is the owners responsibility to provide a safe environment for their tenants. Telling you to sort things out for yourself is wrong.

The next time you notice them smoking, you could start knocking on everyone’s doors, should be easy enough to figure out who it is when the door is open. Maybe management will do something if you can tell them who’s doing it. I’d try to settle it privately first, though.

[Stickerbunny]

Yeah, call the cops next time. I know someone who had people do that to him and the cops knocked on doors, saw the smoke in his apartment and busted him for weed. Hopefully they’ll at least tell them to knock it off for you, or come by and scare them into not filling the hallways with that stuff.

Certain dryer sheets use toxic chemicals for parrots, so I would suggest a dryer towel if you need to put something in the vents (no chemicals, but it’ll still act like an extra filter). Or, put coffee filters filled with used coffee grounds (to absorb it) and fresh cinnamon/lavender (to make it smell nicer) just inside the vent in a packet. There is also a product called “bad air sponge” that works well at getting rid of smells in the air. It got rid of the smell of decaying mouse in my house.

I hope the air purifier works though, I know it did for me. Good luck!

[Sarita]

Not sure what is to figure out…all you have to do is call the cops. There really is nothing to figure out.

[Sr. Melangell]

As Sarita has said since this thread started, call the cops, if you are worried they might hear you on the phone go into your local police station, longer you leave it the worse the situation will get, not just the smell, we all know people CAN get nasty on that stuff, so I understand why you maybe scared about calling the police, but you have to deal with it, so go into the police station, or tell a police officer in the street, if the station is too far to walk ask a friend or relative to take you, if you don’t want them to know what you are doing either you could ask them to drop you off at Art gallery or something where you want to go anyway which is near by and walk round there, if someone says they saw you going in or coming out of the police station tell them you found a doctors keycard or a box of tablets and handed it in.

[MeketatenBun]

Posted By Sarita on 7/07/2015 7:28 PM

Not sure what is to figure out…all you have to do is call the cops. There really is nothing to figure out.

Well, I need to “figure out a way to call the cops and say ‘we have no idea who’s doing it, but it’s one of these three units in this hallway’.” And then the cops in this city prove useless, they literally walked around the house when we called in a noise complaint at 4am from our (different) neighbors blasting music and video games a few years ago. And when our neighbors saw the cop car approach, they shut the music off-thus no noise. The cops then came to our door and told us in a tone of voice that there was no noise and was hinting they thought WE crank called them without even knocking on our neighbor’s door and talking to them. I’ve called in my car being broken into and because I didn’t see anyone do it, they wouldn’t even come to the scene, they just filed a claim and took down my location and told me to make sure my car was locked. I once even had to call these cops in on a friend of mine who was mentally unstable and I was seriously concerned for her safety, they came into her house, literally told her how “effed up her life would be if she tried and how she’d be watched for the rest of her life”, asked if she needed an escort to the hospital, and when she said no through tears, they just… left. Took her word for it. She called me crying at the threats they gave her and no compassionate words to calm her down at all were spoken.

So if I call the cops, I’m a good 99% confident they’ll tell me they have no way of knowing who it is, won’t bother knocking on doors, or if they do and no one answers, they’ll say no one’s home and leave. The cops here seriously aren’t any help, at least the three times I’ve personally called them in two years.

So when that plan fails, I need to figure out what to do about the smell in an apartment when I have asthma, my boyfriend is a vocal music major, and a small bird who will also be affected by it live here. If the air purifier doesn’t work, I need to figure out what I can do next, or figure out where we can move to to escape it completely.

So there is actually a bit I need to figure out when things don’t/won’t go as hoped.

[Sr. Melangell]

All you do is contact the police and say, ‘Someone in the apartment is smoking this stuff, we don’t know which apartment number, can you look into this please?’ They will make a note and probably tell you to call them when you smell it and come round and find out themselves, by bringing a dog or sending a plain clothed police officer, it will be in the hands of the police then problem solved!

[LopLover]

Thats actually really interesting that you can still smell it days later. My dad has what’s commonly referred to as Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, and cannot tolerate the smell of marijuana, however he is not bothered by my smoking out the window in my room. I’d be curious to know if they were smoking blunts or smoking out of glass. Glass, when kept properly cleaned (should be cleaned at least once a week, depending on how much you smoke because resin is just nasty guys), does not retain odor. Blunts however, REEK to high heaven because the paper itself is made of tobacco. Joints, if you use raw, organic papers and tips, don’t tend to smell as strong once they’re out, unless, of course, you’re the kind of stoner who leaves joint/blunt butts laying around, as well as half chiefed bowls and dirty glass. Yuck!!! 

I totally agree with you on where your weed is sourced from. This is important not only for the health of the user but for the health of those around them who don’t mind the smell. I had no idea birds were so sensitive (I’ve never owned any, please don’t hate me but for some reason birds (except the huge Macaws) FREAK me out) though! Good to know for future reference. 

[LopLover]

It used to be like that here, legal gray area. You could have it, use it, but not produce, or distribute it which left us all thinking “Where does this magical substance come from? Lol! No worries, people will figure out soon enough that the law makes no sense. All these things are still very much in flux. But in the meantime, lets keep our furbabies safe by keeping our smoke to ourselves 

[MoxieMeadows]

MeketatenBun— I feel ya about cops being useless. I know somebody (and was there at the incident) when a man made death threats to the person and their family and then attacked them. Guess what happened? Because nobody was in a fight when the cops showed up and there was no weapons they wouldn’t do anything! And that person had been harassing that person and their family for about a week before this incident and there was several police reports. Also, since the person was drinking who attacked the other person, they blamed the alcohol and dropped this dangerous person off at a BUS STOP and told him to get a ride to somewhere. What the heck? Sometime police are of no use unless there is undeniable evidence. :^/
I hope everything works out for you!

[MoxieMeadows]

^ I meant useless sometimes, because cops can be very helpful sometimes.

[jerseygirl]

Just saw this about air purifiers and thought it might interest you, MeketatenBun

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-air-purifiers-2015-rabbit-air-iqair-blueair-3-more-221591?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=managed

It still amuses me that there is a purifier called RabbitAir.
Nice to see it’s not just a gimmicky name.

[Author]

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