I'm doing a summer course at another university and i'm currently living in a university apartment (kinda like a residence).

This apartment allows students to smoke cigarettes inside the room. But the problem i'm having is... there's a student living close to my room who smokes pots at least twice a week. I'm totally cool with someone abusing their own body with illegal substance but the smell in this case is f*king terrible. It's a skunk smell that seeps into my apartment every twice a week at night.

Honestly, I'd love to tell this person to smoke somewhere else, but I don't know exactly where the smell is coming from. So now I'm thinking of reporting this to the campus police. Would they take this issue seriously? I mean.. Marijuana is just way too common so I feel like they won't give a shit about it.

Very very serious. I would report it to campus security. If they do nothing, you can certainly call the cops - they may take a while to come down because it won't be a priority, but they will come down eventually (they have to).

I would be way more pissed off that they allow people to smoke cigarettes inside of the apartments. Although marijuana smoke smells bad at least the smoke doesn't have adverse effects on other people that live in the building.

The university usually turns a blind eye to that stuff until someone complains. Then they come down hard. Most universities have a deal with police that they deal with most petty charges like substance abuse but they have to prove that they have effective programs in place. If you really want it to stop and reporting it hasnt made a difference then I would suggest telling them you are going to file a police report. It will be dealt with.

Find out who it is and tell them to smoke outside.

If you tell the police or campus police you could put them in jeopardy of expulsion (or worse) depending on how bad of a day the officer is having. Unless you intentionally are vindictive and want to ruin someones life over exposure of a scent for periods of an hour or two a couple times a week, don't report them.

Thanks for the replies everyone I really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by adaptation

Find out who it is and tell them to smoke outside.

If you tell the police or campus police you could put them in jeopardy of expulsion (or worse) depending on how bad of a day the officer is having. Unless you intentionally are vindictive and want to ruin someones life over exposure of a scent for periods of an hour or two a couple times a week, don't report them.

^ this is what I am really worrying about. Sure the odor bothers me but should I really be an ass and have this person expelled? That's why I was hoping the police would just give a mild warning to the person, but apparently, it's more serious than I thought..

I can't really find the person tbh. I tried walking around but the smell is everywhere (floor below & even above), so yeah.. I'm just being stressed about it every night this happens

I actually disagree and I would say definitely report them. I would tell the campus police instead of finding it out yourself and talking to them. Let them know it happens often and that it really bothers you. Smoking in residence won't get them expelled. I worked in residence at Mac and it's considered a "major" offense which basically means they meet with a residence manager and have some sort of task to do afterwards. They DEFINITELY will not be expelled. And you certainly shouldn't feel like an a%^ because you reported them for something that they shouldn't be doing in the first place. You're both paying for your stay there, you're both entitled to a comfortable stay without infringing on that same right for others.

You seem like a chill person and do not want to be an ass, so that's awesome.

I would first try to track down the person and tell them face to face that you don't care what they do, but for them to have the courtesy to go smoke outside.

Give them one or two strikes after that. Warn them that they'll be royally screwed if they continue. If they do, then go ahead and report. They had a fair warning.

Knock on the adjacent doors next time you smell it. Tell them what's up and hopefully they will understand.

As people have mentioned above, I would personally go knock on their door because you have mentioned that you don't see them. After, tell the person that the smell has been bothering you because you pay rent there too, so you definitely don't deserve this at all. See what happens after you tell them such as if the person stops smoking or not a couple of times.

If it continues, then it is time for you to report it because you have told them how you felt about the situation, then it's not worth sacrificing your health over it anymore. I do appreciate you being a nice person and thinking about not getting the person in trouble, but after several chance it is definitely time to report the issue. Who knows, there might be other people who smell it too in your building, so you'd be helping other people out as well.

Yeah don't go behind the dude's back and report him to the police right away without even asking him first to stop.

Just go to him first and ask him to stop smoking inside as it bothers you. If he's nice he'll start smoking outside. If he continues to smoke inside however, then yeah, you can raise the issue to the landlord/police or whatever after.

hmm should we really feel sympathy for lawbreakers?

Originally Posted by ta2012

hmm should we really feel sympathy for lawbreakers?

The vast majority of the population has broken the law at one point or another.

It's just common sense to speak with the student first. You have more chance of a peaceful resolution, and you avoid tying up police resources with something so minor. The student isn't running a grow-op in their room
Besides, do you really want to be responsible for someone's criminal record, and then have to live near them for the next few months?

Current marijuana laws in Canada have been influenced by the example of the US. The result is that the prescribed penalties are out of proportion to the actual harm to society. For that reason it would be unfortunate to be a party to destroying someone's future with a possible expulsion from university. Listen to the other forum participants here: Approach the person and explain your stand. Suggest he carry out his recreational activities elsewhere, or outside. Explain that if you get no response you would be forced to report the situation, and that you would have no control over the consequences. Follow through, if you must, but don't stoop to becoming a common snitch by failing to give notice.

Don't forget that many people have prescriptions for medical use of marijuana -- they might not even be breaking the law. Your best bet is definitely to talk to them yourself first.

Thanks for all the replies
i'll try to find the person first, and if this doesn't work out well, then i'll just report