Reply to DC resident sues neighbor over pot smell AND WINS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Folks, this case is neither a "dangerous precedent" nor a useless outlier.

[b]The plaintiff in this case was able to show that the pot smoke was pervasive enough to impact her health. That's going to be quite rare. This is not going to enable someone to sue their neighbor because they don't like the occasional scent of pot or cigarette smoke. It's clear this case involved an incredibly heavy smoker who was smoking all the time, and that the proximity of the homes was so close that this resulted in pot smoke IN the plaintiffs home all the time. Most in-home pot use will never rise to this level. If you smoke pot at home, even in your backyard or on your front porch, it's very unlikely this case could be used to sue you unless you are smoking all the time and in such a way as to fill your neighbors house with pot all the time.[/b]

And no, a vegan could not sue their neighbor for BBQing, unless they could show that the BBQing was so frequent and the smoke from it so pervasive as to cause health issues. Won't happen.

Think of it like noise. If you could occasionally hear your neighbor talking loudly, playing music, or hosting people, but it was at a generally "normal" level and only disrupted you very occasionally, could you sue them into silence? No, people are allowed to generate some noise in their normal lives. But if your neighbor was blasting bass-heavy music 24/7, rattling your walls and preventing you from sleeping or functioning, could you sue them. Yes, of course.

This person was engaging in the pot version of 24/7 music turned up to 11. Don't do that.[/quote]

I need people to re-read the bolded. People are making this out to be a bigger deal than it is. [/quote]

Maybe not a landmark decision legally.  But in many parts of white collar DC pot smokers are now on notice that for the low, low cost of a court filing fee they will be publicly identified as a frequent marijuana user and a inconsiderate neighbor.  Not career enhancing for those early in their careers, work for the feds, or have a security clearance.  [/quote]

So now people are threatening lawsuits just to be jerks? Who cares if your neighbor smokes pot in their own house (and you're not, like the plaintiff in this case, actually harmed other than being annoyed about it)? [/quote]

Living near potheads is a nightmare. I hope they all get dragged into court and get publicly marked as ***holes.[/quote]

"Living near potheads is a nightmare" how, exactly? Yes, in this case, it seemed like living near the defendant would be unpleasant. I don't see why I should be upset if my neighbors smoke weed, though, especially if I can't smell it. But honestly, even if I can; I've lived on plenty of blocks well before D.C. decriminalized weed where people smoked outside all the time, and I wouldn't describe that as a nightmare.[/quote]

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