I support marijuana legalization, but I wish pot smokers would stop stinking up the sidewalks.
I'm not alone. In places where using marijuana no longer carries the threat of a jail sentence, the pungent odor of ganja is increasingly infiltrating daily life--and annoying nonsmokers. "It used to be kind of neat smelling pot occasionally on a weekend, but now Toronto smells like weed all the time," complains writer Liza Herz.
Like cigarette smokers, marijuana smokers get used to the smell and don't notice how loathsome it can be to those who don't share their habits. Unlike cigarette smokers, however, pot smokers haven't yet developed strong norms about not bothering the neighbors.
"The worst is that new neighbors in the house behind me smoke all the time, and it wafts into my yard and bedroom like a frightened skunk," says Jessica Lee, a financial professional in Washington, D.C., who says she "used to be for legalization" but changed her mind after seeing so many young people smoking.
If the marijuana-legalization movement faces an effective backlash, it's likely to come from smoke-averse citizens rather than traditional drug warriors. "I don't care at all what one does in their private space, but when it invades and endangers my health and the health of others--bad, bad, bad!" says Manhattan makeup artist Maria Verel. She complains that the many construction workers in her neighborhood smoke so much pot on their lunch breaks that "it's like walking through an opium den."
Threatening criminal prosecution, which can ruin someone's life, is a terrible substitute for establishing norms of politeness. But nonsmokers make up the majority of voters, and politicians listen to them.
Editorial on 07/25/2017