Opinion | A dispute over marijuana smoke misses a bigger problem

My family (with two children) was smoked out more than five years ago. Like Josefa Ippolito-Shepherd, who successfully sued over her neighbor’s marijuana smoke, I drafted a nuisance complaint, but I never filed it in court because we wanted to sell, and my wife (smartly) warned that a lawsuit risked painting a “don’t buy” bull’s eye on our home.

These “in-home” businesses violate any number of D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs regulations, but the feckless DCRA did nothing in response to my complaints. Meanwhile, the D.C. police has been emasculated by related “reform” laws, and elected politicians don’t have the guts to say a bad word about the right to peddle pot in the home.

I voted for Initiative 71. But between the hypocrite Republicans in Congress and the soft-on-crime Democrats who control D.C. politics, Initiative 71 has been abused, and D.C. residents lose. God bless Ms. Ippolito-Shepherd. If her case is appealed, I will gladly file an amicus brief in support of her righteous cause.

The dangers and sickening effects of marijuana smoke have been researched and reported for years, “Secondhand marijuana smoke contains many of the same cancer-causing substances and toxic chemicals as secondhand tobacco smoke. Some of the known carcinogens or toxins present in marijuana smoke include: acetaldehyde, ammonia arsenic, benzene, cadmium, chromium, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, lead, mercury, and nickel.” Marijuana smoke is full of toxic chemicals, making people sick.

Decriminalization of marijuana has led to a free-for-all and shifted the burden of the consequences and enforcement to residents. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the D.C. Council failed basic competency and balancing tests required of public officials and legislators by ignoring the known environmental health risks posed by marijuana smoke.

I am one of many people with a multiple chemical sensitivities condition, and, therefore, I am particularly susceptible to the chemical impact of marijuana smoke and smells. Reactions to the chemicals in the smoke and the odors include nausea, head and neck aches, “brain fog” and severe changes in ear pressure, causing dizziness and imbalance. The effects can last for hours or longer.

Marijuana smoke has engulfed D.C. in a chemical haze and odor. It wafts from cars as drivers smoking marijuana drive right past police officers. Marijuana is being smoked on Metro escalators. I recently walked past four marijuana smokers on the sidewalk in front of Georgetown Hospital just to get to a medical appointment there. I encounter marijuana smoke simply trying to reach a drug or grocery store in Woodley Park or walking down to Dupont Circle.

Steven L. Katz, Washington

I am one of those people who intensely dislike the smell of smoked marijuana. To me, the No. 1 issue here is convincing pot smokers of a basic fact: They stink. The smell lingers on their clothes and hair for hours after they smoke. To a person, they seem utterly oblivious, like the classic cartoon character Pepe Le Pew, convinced of their own attractiveness while everyone nearby edges away from their stench.

The solution is simple: Marijuana-smoking should be restricted to hookah bars, which I will happily avoid, and those who must consume at home should use edibles.