Trial Court Deems Medical Marijuana Smoke a Nuisance

The trouble with court rulings and smoking bans in buildings is that they're not enforceable to the extent needed by someone with ailments such as COPD.

Rules and laws can only impose penalties after the fact - they can't actually prevent an action from happening. It's why I've commented in the past that if someone has lung conditions that require clean air, they need to have backup measures such as HEPA filters in place. Or avoid attached housing altogether, which is what I recommend. I understand that many people have little choice about this, though.

I know next to nothing about medical marijuana, but can't someone ingest it in some other fashion? People who live in areas where marijuana is banned have relied on edibles for years since you can consume them without alerting the neighborhood that you're breaking the law.

I too thought the attorney's comment was great. Of course, I particularly love how he says his client is going to win. Truth is, he has no idea whether a court would rule in his favor.

The article notes that this was not an appeal court ruling, so the judge's ruling is not binding on any other court.

Aside: As a DC court system judge, the judge was U. S. Senate confirmed some months ago.

This is some welcoming news. I used to live in an apartment with adjoining balconies from a corner unit. The people there were chain smokers and never smoked inside their unit, always outside.
Their cigarette smoke would always waft into my apartment. Countless complaints to the leasing office and corporate literately went nowhere.

I know this isn't true of all smokers, but has anyone else noticed that too many have NO REGARD WHATSOEVER for anyone else's feelings on the funk and mess they cause because of their habits? They don't care if little kids are coughing or sneezing from the smoke (including their own relatives), leave ashes and cigarette butts or roaches all over the floor or furniture, not to mention the burns? And some ignore personal space and get way too close to you with that smokers breathe that makes you gag!

Way to throw an entire group of people under the bus. Unfortunately, I am a smoker and no I don't condone it. However, I bend over backwards to smoke away from others. When in public, I excuse myself and find a place far away from people before I light up. I also never flick my butt on the ground. Not all of us are evil addicts looking to mow down everyone in our way when we need a fix. Your one size fits all description of us is a load of shit.

Yes, there are rude cigarette smokers just like there are rude people of any subset of the population.

Well, John, nice to know you're one of the considerate ones, but...

My dad smoked a pack and a half of Pall-Mall cigarettes a day, and my uncle smoked Kools - he and my next door neighbor (where I grew up) both died of lung cancer. Before I bought my townhouse, my apartment was across from a guy who continued to smoke, despite having COPD and an oxygen tank. I knew of one lady who lit up while wearing her oxygen tank, set herself on fire and died. This despite living in an assisted living building where she'd been warned about smoking in a non smoking Facility!

And then there was the guy on the plane who snuck puffs from his e-cigarette.

Sorry you're in your feelings, but I said what I said and I meant every word.

I figure if we're not seeing PSAs for a particular problem it's because the lobby for that group is more effective. (Cynic, remember?) The tobacco manufacturers lost a number of bruising court battles. I suspect one of the turning points was when it was discovered that these companies manipulated the level of nicotine in their products to make them more addictive. The public turned against them in large enough numbers to outweigh any campaign contributions being thrown at politicians, and politicians who want to remain in office know how to tell which way the wind is blowing.

You're not wrong about obesity, but there are a number of issues with that. One, it isn't contagious, and someone's obesity doesn't harm me except indirectly. Second, people who are addicted to substances other than food/sugar/whatever can just avoid the substance altogether. Overweight people instead are expected to consume moderate amounts of their problem substance, which our experiences with things like alcoholism and smoking suggest won't work. Third, it's pretty clear we don't understand the mechanisms of obesity. I've known plenty of folks who eat sparingly but are still obese, and others who eat whatever they want and remain lean. Finally, it's not like people don't know they're obese. They don't need a PSA to tell them, they're reminded every time they look in the mirror.

I think PSAs are actually not very useful no matter what group they're targeting. People change their behavior when the negative consequences of the behavior to them personal outweigh the benefits. Which suggests that strictly enforced laws and other limits are the way to go, unsatisfying as this may be as we wait for people to wise up. Which brings us neatly back to the article that ElleN posted.