Is it illegal? These days it depends on what state the college is in and the age of the roommate.
I also don’t see how it is blown out of proportion. It is illegal, and I have to share a space with someone who is smoking something that frankly smells disgusting. I work in the healthcare field as a CNA and I can’t come in to work with perfume or lotion on let alone smelling like weed.
She did respond later telling me she has a medical marijuana card (it is legal medicinally here), however she said she will be smoking it in the apartment but will stay in her room. Obviously the smell can’t be contained unless she’s in a sealed space, which a bedroom is not. I called the apartment office and asked if medicinal marijuana is allowed, and they said no because it is still illegal under federal law. I passed this info on to the future roommate and she basically said too bad.
I have since called the office back and requested a roommate change, we’ll see how it goes. Again, I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I specifically requested a non smoking roommate so either the apartment messed up or she didn’t state that she smokes.
While I don’t give a damn about pot, I don’t want to smell like it (or have my living place smell like it!) if I’m not smoking it, and I don’t want to smoke it. I am laughing at the people who think this is unreasonable
Who cares if it is illegal or not? If it was cigarette smoke there would be the same issue. People who smoke anything shouldn’t be matched with people who don’t smoke, period. The apartment policy on anything smoking related is that they can smoke (cigarettes) if the other roommate is okay with it. Obviously where pot is not even allowed, I’m going to have an issue with it
@lovelyface If your avatar photo is a real photo of yourself, the mom in me strongly suggests you change it to something more anonymous. 
Thanks for the advice
The fact that “she basically said too bad” upon being informed it was illegal gives me a really bad vibe. I hope the switch works out okay.
Just to be clear I do think you should get a new roommate. You wouldn’t have to worry about smelling like weed at work, unless you were sitting in the same room with her while she was smoking. But regardless, you would both be much happier living with someone who has a similar lifestyle. She needs someone who also smokes, or at least doesn’t care that she does. And since you’re clearly bothered by this, this isn’t going to work out very well. I personally think random roommates are an absolutely atrocious idea for this very reason. Unfortunately, people are never going to stop doing it because of necessity. Ultimately, my advice would be to try to make some likeminded friends early on this semester and try to room with them next year.
Wow it’s so interesting to see how people try to justify pot smoking and make others feel bad for not being accepting of it. The politics of it are unduly influencing what should be more of a matter of etiquette and respect for others’ health.
The research on the health effects of secondhand pot smoke lags way behind the research on secondhand tobacco smoke. My friend had to move out of his apartment in NYC because the ventilation system was directing all his neighbor’s pot smoke into his apartment and causing him serious respiratory problems. The irony is he would’ve had more recourse if it had been tobacco smoke, because there are specific laws in place to protect the health of tenants from secondhand tobacco smoke.
This issue is going to come up again and again over the next few years because we are still in “Wild West” territory when it comes to marijuana smoking.
^ That is what few people understand. Many times buildings like dorms have HVAC systems which circulate the air. So If you smoke in a room, that air eventually gets circulated to the whole building. People who are sensitive to the byproducts of smoking can have serious respiratory problems. So what is pleasurable and relaxing to one person can be health threating to others.
Back in the day, my dorm neighbors smoke and you could always tell when they were smoking even with the doors close. Dorm rooms are not air tight.
And monkeys fly out of my butt.
This is precisely the right response. You’re not moralizing about your roommate’s choices, you’re simply protecting your right to have your living space shared in accordance with the law, the rules of your school, and respect for one another.
I’ve laid down similar guidelines with roommates in the past, and luckily they were willing to not only agree to those guidelines, but to observe them unfailingly. Unfortunately, the lack of further response is not an encouraging sign. If your roommate was willing to meet you on this, it could actually be a valuable learning experience. But given the ensuing silence, I agree with those who suggest you petition for a change of roommate ASAP.
Good for you for standing up for your self!
@MotherOfDragons That’s horrible. You ought to get that checked out.
ive been following this thread and just curious (in case i might one day have to deal with this)
when you request a new roommate do you have to tell them why you’re requesting one? i feel like they wouldn’t just let people switch roommates like that for no reason… and if you do have to tell them… do you tell them she smokes marijuana? wouldn’t that get her arrested or something? i wouldn’t want to be a snitch on her and get her arrested or kicked out. plus she would know i was the one who did it. how do you get the school to prioritize your switching roommate request?
my concern would be that because they dont know why im requesting it (drugs), that they’ll just think it’s another silly request out of probably dozens that they get all the time and probably just think it’s some spoiled college kid being picky. how do you get em to take the request seriously without having to pretty much rat out the girl?
cuz i have friends that smoke and a lot of them are really good people that i dont want to vilify but i would rather not live with someone who smokes anything.
- Yes.
- Not my problem.
She has a medical marijuana card. She won’t get arrested.
Just as an update: They are still trying to figure out what to do. They are contacting a local attorney to see what they should do in this situation, as I guess it hasn’t come up before.
As for someone else’s question, it isn’t illegal to smoke marijuana where I live if you have a card, however the apartment reserves the right to say you can’t smoke on the property.
When I called to switch, I tried to just say I thought we would not be compatible but that wasn’t a “good enough” reason, so I was forced to mention the pot use. I would have liked to not rat her out but I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to get out of the apartment
Is this a college owned apartment or off campus?
Since she can legally smoke marijuana, it seems like it should be treated just as they would treat a situation where one roommate smokes cigarettes and the other does not.
It is not related to the college. It’s right next to the school and only students stay there, but it isn’t owned by the college