Returned to the District after two years. First impression: Smells like marijuana

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I smell it everywhere too. It is so strange to be driving down the road and suddenly be overwhelmed with the smell even though the windows are rolled up. I can never figure out which car it is coming from, but once I swear it was the postal truck in front of me. And when you have to stand in line with people who reek of pot, ugh. Nasty. Not nearly as bad as cigarettes, but still.

So gross.

It's pretty bad when it's coming from a car. People would freak if they saw someone quaffing a Bud or draining a vodka bottle while driving. The effect is the same on the driver -- and on the safety risk to pedestrians, motorists and passengers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it everywhere too. It is so strange to be driving down the road and suddenly be overwhelmed with the smell even though the windows are rolled up. I can never figure out which car it is coming from, but once I swear it was the postal truck in front of me. And when you have to stand in line with people who reek of pot, ugh. Nasty. Not nearly as bad as cigarettes, but still.

So gross.

It's pretty bad when it's coming from a car. People would freak if they saw someone quaffing a Bud or draining a vodka bottle while driving. The effect is the same on the driver -- and on the safety risk to pedestrians, motorists and passengers.

People should not be driving while stoned but it is nowhere near as dangerous as driving while drunk or impaired:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2011/11/does_marijuana_make_you_a_more_dangerous_driver_than_alcohol_.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it absolutely everywhere and it's disgusting, even worse than cigarette smoke (and just as bad for the public's health). I was at zoo lights last weekend and wanted to puke the stench was so thick. Gone are the days of good-smelling weed...the crap people smoke now smells terrible. It's making me want to move out of the city, and I love the city otherwise.

I wish we could repeal the law or at least get MPD to crack down on public smoking.

The zoo is federal land, and the feds take a far less benign view of weed, even after the departure of AG Sessions. Plus there are a lot of little kids around the zoo. I say, "Book 'em, Danno!"

This is such a dumb point - how are kids harmed being around stoned people or the remnant smells of marijuana?

- a parent of two young children

You are clearly a bad mother or dad because one can assume that you smoke pot around your young children. You are a threat to their health if not to their general welfare. You should be ashamed.

No parents are not bad parents because they expose their kids to stoned people or the smell of marijuana smoke on the street. Car exhaust and ground level ozone are far worse and far more prevalent.

And what are we supposed to do about it anyhow?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it absolutely everywhere and it's disgusting, even worse than cigarette smoke (and just as bad for the public's health). I was at zoo lights last weekend and wanted to puke the stench was so thick. Gone are the days of good-smelling weed...the crap people smoke now smells terrible. It's making me want to move out of the city, and I love the city otherwise.

I wish we could repeal the law or at least get MPD to crack down on public smoking.

The zoo is federal land, and the feds take a far less benign view of weed, even after the departure of AG Sessions. Plus there are a lot of little kids around the zoo. I say, "Book 'em, Danno!"

This is such a dumb point - how are kids harmed being around stoned people or the remnant smells of marijuana?

- a parent of two young children

You are clearly a bad mother or dad because one can assume that you smoke pot around your young children. You are a threat to their health if not to their general welfare. You should be ashamed.

No parents are not bad parents because they expose their kids to stoned people or the smell of marijuana smoke on the street. Car exhaust and ground level ozone are far worse and far more prevalent.

And what are we supposed to do about it anyhow?

Write your politicians to ask the police to ticket. That's something you can do.

[Anonymous]

I smell it all the time (like in Ward 1) and yes, it is an offensive smell. We finally got rid of most cigarette smell and now have to smell pot? It stinks. I hate it.

And if you complain about it, you're somehow now a stodgy anti-marijuana person. I just don't want to smell it constantly, or have my kids smell it.

But I will say, there are a few animal exhibits at the zoo that have a skunk-y smell, but that's the natural musk odor - you can smell it around the cheetah/zebra area, but it's whatever animal is on the back side of that area. That said, there's probably a lot of pot smoke at Zoolights, I bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it everywhere too. It is so strange to be driving down the road and suddenly be overwhelmed with the smell even though the windows are rolled up. I can never figure out which car it is coming from, but once I swear it was the postal truck in front of me. And when you have to stand in line with people who reek of pot, ugh. Nasty. Not nearly as bad as cigarettes, but still.

So gross.

It's pretty bad when it's coming from a car. People would freak if they saw someone quaffing a Bud or draining a vodka bottle while driving. The effect is the same on the driver -- and on the safety risk to pedestrians, motorists and passengers.

People should not be driving while stoned but it is nowhere near as dangerous as driving while drunk or impaired:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2011/11/does_marijuana_make_you_a_more_dangerous_driver_than_alcohol_.html

I wouldn’t cite slate for much. Has anyone really read Slate since 2003?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it everywhere too. It is so strange to be driving down the road and suddenly be overwhelmed with the smell even though the windows are rolled up. I can never figure out which car it is coming from, but once I swear it was the postal truck in front of me. And when you have to stand in line with people who reek of pot, ugh. Nasty. Not nearly as bad as cigarettes, but still.

So gross.

It's pretty bad when it's coming from a car. People would freak if they saw someone quaffing a Bud or draining a vodka bottle while driving. The effect is the same on the driver -- and on the safety risk to pedestrians, motorists and passengers.

People should not be driving while stoned but it is nowhere near as dangerous as driving while drunk or impaired:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2011/11/does_marijuana_make_you_a_more_dangerous_driver_than_alcohol_.html

I wouldn’t cite slate for much. Has anyone really read Slate since 2003?

Oh geez did you even bother to read the article?

In any case there are numerous other articles as well include some academic papers:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722956/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-drivers-are-a-lot-safer-than-drunk-ones-new-federal-data-show/?utm_term=.dc264f5ddbe0

And yeah driving stoned is a lot less dangerous than driving drunk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it everywhere too. It is so strange to be driving down the road and suddenly be overwhelmed with the smell even though the windows are rolled up. I can never figure out which car it is coming from, but once I swear it was the postal truck in front of me. And when you have to stand in line with people who reek of pot, ugh. Nasty. Not nearly as bad as cigarettes, but still.

So gross.

It's pretty bad when it's coming from a car. People would freak if they saw someone quaffing a Bud or draining a vodka bottle while driving. The effect is the same on the driver -- and on the safety risk to pedestrians, motorists and passengers.

People should not be driving while stoned but it is nowhere near as dangerous as driving while drunk or impaired:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2011/11/does_marijuana_make_you_a_more_dangerous_driver_than_alcohol_.html

I wouldn’t cite slate for much. Has anyone really read Slate since 2003?

Oh geez did you even bother to read the article?

In any case there are numerous other articles as well include some academic papers:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722956/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-drivers-are-a-lot-safer-than-drunk-ones-new-federal-data-show/?utm_term=.dc264f5ddbe0

And yeah driving stoned is a lot less dangerous than driving drunk.

As my mother said, the lesser of two evils means you're still faced with two evils.

Pot is a mind altering substance, no ifs and buts about it. Cigarettes are a substance but not a mind altering one. Pot should be classified along with alcohol and drivers penalized and prosecuted for driving under the influence of pot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it everywhere too. It is so strange to be driving down the road and suddenly be overwhelmed with the smell even though the windows are rolled up. I can never figure out which car it is coming from, but once I swear it was the postal truck in front of me. And when you have to stand in line with people who reek of pot, ugh. Nasty. Not nearly as bad as cigarettes, but still.

So gross.

It's pretty bad when it's coming from a car. People would freak if they saw someone quaffing a Bud or draining a vodka bottle while driving. The effect is the same on the driver -- and on the safety risk to pedestrians, motorists and passengers.

People should not be driving while stoned but it is nowhere near as dangerous as driving while drunk or impaired:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2011/11/does_marijuana_make_you_a_more_dangerous_driver_than_alcohol_.html

I wouldn’t cite slate for much. Has anyone really read Slate since 2003?

Oh geez did you even bother to read the article?

In any case there are numerous other articles as well include some academic papers:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722956/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-drivers-are-a-lot-safer-than-drunk-ones-new-federal-data-show/?utm_term=.dc264f5ddbe0

And yeah driving stoned is a lot less dangerous than driving drunk.

As my mother said, the lesser of two evils means you're still faced with two evils.

Pot is a mind altering substance, no ifs and buts about it. Cigarettes are a substance but not a mind altering one. Pot should be classified along with alcohol and drivers penalized and prosecuted for driving under the influence of pot.

I assume you still didn't bother to read the linked pieces. It sounds like Pot is far less mind and performance altering than alcohol which is certainly my personal experience (and based on your tone I doubt you have much personal experience). And pot is also far less ubiquitous despite the odd comments from whoever started this thread and seems to smell it everywhere.

I'm far, far more concerned about people using their cell phones while driving which is far more common at this point than driving drunk or stoned.

[Anonymous]

I'm not the person you are back and forthing with , but perhaps start your own thread if you think rules about cell phones are not being enforced? This thread is about pot in the district being decriminalize with conditions, and how those conditions are not being enforced. I would agree it is not "everywhere you go"- but a lot of people are reporting it's in a lot of "shared spaces" that we visit, like zoo parks and Georgetown. Fun places. Places we go with kids. That's not what people understood the intention of the legislation to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it everywhere too. It is so strange to be driving down the road and suddenly be overwhelmed with the smell even though the windows are rolled up. I can never figure out which car it is coming from, but once I swear it was the postal truck in front of me. And when you have to stand in line with people who reek of pot, ugh. Nasty. Not nearly as bad as cigarettes, but still.

So gross.

It's pretty bad when it's coming from a car. People would freak if they saw someone quaffing a Bud or draining a vodka bottle while driving. The effect is the same on the driver -- and on the safety risk to pedestrians, motorists and passengers.

People should not be driving while stoned but it is nowhere near as dangerous as driving while drunk or impaired:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2011/11/does_marijuana_make_you_a_more_dangerous_driver_than_alcohol_.html

I wouldn’t cite slate for much. Has anyone really read Slate since 2003?

Oh geez did you even bother to read the article?

In any case there are numerous other articles as well include some academic papers:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722956/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-drivers-are-a-lot-safer-than-drunk-ones-new-federal-data-show/?utm_term=.dc264f5ddbe0

And yeah driving stoned is a lot less dangerous than driving drunk.

As my mother said, the lesser of two evils means you're still faced with two evils.

Pot is a mind altering substance, no ifs and buts about it. Cigarettes are a substance but not a mind altering one. Pot should be classified along with alcohol and drivers penalized and prosecuted for driving under the influence of pot.

I assume you still didn't bother to read the linked pieces. It sounds like Pot is far less mind and performance altering than alcohol which is certainly my personal experience (and based on your tone I doubt you have much personal experience). And pot is also far less ubiquitous despite the odd comments from whoever started this thread and seems to smell it everywhere.

I'm far, far more concerned about people using their cell phones while driving which is far more common at this point than driving drunk or stoned.

Like most pot users you are very defensive of your habit. You ignored the comment that while it's the lesser of two evils it's still an evil. It may not be as mind altering a drug as alcohol but it is still a mind altering drug. Understand? Anything that is classified as a mind altering drug should should be included in the category of "driving under influence" and pot is no exception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell it everywhere too. It is so strange to be driving down the road and suddenly be overwhelmed with the smell even though the windows are rolled up. I can never figure out which car it is coming from, but once I swear it was the postal truck in front of me. And when you have to stand in line with people who reek of pot, ugh. Nasty. Not nearly as bad as cigarettes, but still.

So gross.

It's pretty bad when it's coming from a car. People would freak if they saw someone quaffing a Bud or draining a vodka bottle while driving. The effect is the same on the driver -- and on the safety risk to pedestrians, motorists and passengers.

People should not be driving while stoned but it is nowhere near as dangerous as driving while drunk or impaired:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2011/11/does_marijuana_make_you_a_more_dangerous_driver_than_alcohol_.html

I wouldn’t cite slate for much. Has anyone really read Slate since 2003?

Oh geez did you even bother to read the article?

In any case there are numerous other articles as well include some academic papers:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722956/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-drivers-are-a-lot-safer-than-drunk-ones-new-federal-data-show/?utm_term=.dc264f5ddbe0

And yeah driving stoned is a lot less dangerous than driving drunk.

As my mother said, the lesser of two evils means you're still faced with two evils.

Pot is a mind altering substance, no ifs and buts about it. Cigarettes are a substance but not a mind altering one. Pot should be classified along with alcohol and drivers penalized and prosecuted for driving under the influence of pot.

I assume you still didn't bother to read the linked pieces. It sounds like Pot is far less mind and performance altering than alcohol which is certainly my personal experience (and based on your tone I doubt you have much personal experience). And pot is also far less ubiquitous despite the odd comments from whoever started this thread and seems to smell it everywhere.

I'm far, far more concerned about people using their cell phones while driving which is far more common at this point than driving drunk or stoned.

Like most pot users you are very defensive of your habit. You ignored the comment that while it's the lesser of two evils it's still an evil. It may not be as mind altering a drug as alcohol but it is still a mind altering drug. Understand? Anything that is classified as a mind altering drug should should be included in the category of "driving under influence" and pot is no exception.

I haven't touched pot in 25 years so you are erroneously jumping to conclusions, conclusions that probably fit your own political narrative.

Still I seem to know a lot more about it than you do and in any case the available evidence supports my arguments and not yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what is Bowser trying to do and what's her motivation? What annoys me about DC is if you give an inch people take a mile. That's why I respect NIMBYS - they look at the next 3,4 moves beyond the one under discussion. I give them credit for preventing or slowing a lot of bad , unintended consequences. Not this pot situation tho. It seems like a lot of really kind hearted people were just duped. The law I voted for is not this.

NP, I am actually working on a doc about decriminalization in the district, I think citizens will be much happier with a fully realized recreation market than they are now with the current situation. A poster above mentioned non-enforcement, but that is not the case. Arrests for public consumption went up in DC after decriminalization, unlike most places around the country (fun fact: A black person is 11 times more likely to be arrested for public consumption in the district, according to e report by drug policy.org)

There are vendors operating out of homes and in your neighborhoods, working around initiative 71. If there was a legal rec market set up, the private parties happening all around town would be forced into to open, and would need to apply to operate in specified zones. The tax benefit would also be huge, The fact that congress blocked the rec market in the first place was a huge disservice to the city. It would be really shortsighted for DC to have come this close to legal weed, without going all in, and part of the valid complaints you all have in this thread could improve with full regulation.

Another comment about lack of enforcement, the police are working to cleanup parts of the city in this regard, but their efforts are being spent cleaning certain wards and specifically stopping pop-ups, and busting vendors big and small. They would have more time to enforce public consumption if these vendors were allowed to operate in a fully legal fashion, instead of a strange grey area/loop hole way they operate now!

[Anonymous]

This is very interesting. I am already tempted to support any initiative to rescind the current law however, before moving to what you say. You make a strong argument, but I feel I have already been tricked once. Police need to strongly enforce what we currently have before we move to anything new. The city should also publicize where you can /cannot smoke weed. There is clearly so much confusion. If they cannot get a bead on the current situation, I dread anything new being introduced. That " reeks", pun intended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is very interesting. I am already tempted to support any initiative to rescind the current law however, before moving to what you say. You make a strong argument, but I feel I have already been tricked once. Police need to strongly enforce what we currently have before we move to anything new. The city should also publicize where you can /cannot smoke weed. There is clearly so much confusion. If they cannot get a bead on the current situation, I dread anything new being introduced. That " reeks", pun intended.

Now that it is in essence legalized marijuana possession and consumption is a victimless crime. The fact that someone on DCUM is offended that their kids might smell something that they are neither bothered by nor aware of what it is doesn't mean it makes any sense for MPD to put resources into this issue when we have actual serious and life threatening issues that actually merit attention.