PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An Arizona lawmaker is proposing legislation that would make “excessive” marijuana smoke and odor a a public nuisance.
Senate Bill 1725 would expand state laws to classify excessive marijuana smoke or odor as a public nuisance. Under the proposal, residents who encounter what they consider to be excessive marijuana smoke or odor near their homes, apartments or other properties could gather evidence and contact police.
Anyone found to create a public nuisance through marijuana smoke or odor would face a $750 fine.
State Senator J.D. Mesnard (R-17) introduced the bill. He said it is not intended to target what residents do inside their own homes, but rather to address situations where marijuana smoke and odor extend beyond private property lines.
“When it becomes much more common and starts impacting your ability to raise your family, that’s when it becomes an issue,” Mesnard said. “I shouldn’t have to tell my kids we need to go inside or close the windows because there’s a strong smell that’s making being outside intolerable.”
A amendment to the bill was added in a Senate committee to define “excessive” as “marijuana smoke or odor that is capable of being detected by a person on the private property of another person.”
The bill has drawn criticism from some residents and industry observers who say the language is too vague and could be used to target people using marijuana legally in their own homes. Others questioned whether such legislation is necessary or if it represents government overreach.
The marijuana industry has taken a largely neutral stance on the bill.
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Demetri Downing, founder of the Marijuana Industry Trade Association, said the industry wants a responsible sector but questioned whether new legislation is needed.
“Do we need more government regulations? Do we need laws that allow the government to come inside our houses and determine what we can do?” Downing said. “That’s the challenging part.”
SB 1725 recently passed the Rules Committee and faces several more procedural steps before it could become law in Arizona.
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