Guest using medical marijuana

[Jessica137]

This is a new one for me.

My current guest is using medical marijuana and my house reeks!

My rules clearly state no drugs or smoking of any kind but I do not think he is smoking (?)  I don't see any indication of that.

Why does my house smell so bad?

And, what should I do to prevent this in the future?  

Thanks!

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Jessica137

With regards to prevention, if a guest tells you in advance then ask if they have odor absorbing storage bag or similar - eg: smell-proof prescription bottles, baggies or odor-absorbing stash containers.

You might want to think of having one to hand just in case - they are not that expensive and work very well

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Most won't offer that information in advance. In my place odours travel pretty quickly and easily. Medical or not, I wouldnt be able to have it in my place. Just the smell nauseates me and I live in the building. Your rules state no drugs or smoking. I'm guessing he's actually smoking if it smells that bad if he wasn't your place wsimply would not smell. HE would and perhaps his suitcase would, but your whole house? At any rate, this could affect your next guests as that smeel, much like cigarette smoke, does not easily dissipate and lingers on literally EVERYTHING. Also, I'm not sure how the medical marijuana laws work inyour area, but in BC Canada, they must have a very specific prescription with very specific information on it, filled out my a medical doctor. Many people who claim to be using "medical marijuana" actually aren't and they will try to show you a prescription for a "doctor" that they either purchase online or from a non medical "doctor" who is not legally recognized as such. If you know exactly what your laws are regarding this, you can weed these scammers out (see what I did there? LOL). I had exactly such an incident a year ago from a long term tenant whom I caught smoking in her apartment. I caught her because she had just come home (I heard her run up the stairs and I heard the door close). I had to ask her something so I went up and knocked on the door. The smell slapped me in the face and I immediately confronted her about it. She lied and told me that no she wasn't smoking anything. Then she said that it must be some stuff she had in the pocket of her coat. (it wasn't). I reminded her of the lease she signed that stated that there was no smoking of any combustible materials on the property and that no drugs of any kind, whether legal or illegal were permitted to be stored on the premises. I told her that she needed to remove it immediately and left. Ten minutes, later she sent me an email with a "prescription" for "medical marijuana signed by a quack from another town attached telling me that she was "permitted to have it". I immediately told her, "Not on my premises, you aren't!" I then printed it off and took it down to my local RCMP detachment and had a nice chat with an officer who also happened to be a landlord, so he understood where I was coming from. He took one look and told me that ot wasn't legal prescription since it was missing most of the required information and it was not signed by a medical doctor. Armed with that knowledge, I went back and informed her that she had just recieved her one warning to breaking a material term of the lease and that if it happened again, she would be immediately evicted. Thankfully, shortly after that, she finally decided to move out. She had been nothing but trouble from 11 days into her tenancy, when I had to call the cops due to her and her boyfriend fighting. That happened several times.
In short, you DO have rights to protect your property. Their "right" to smoke whatever they decide they want to does not trump your right to have your home undamaged. My best advice is to find out if the guest has a prescription and if it is a "legal" prescription. From there, if it's not legal, call AirBnB and have them remove them. If it is legal, call AirBnB and tell them it's damaging your home and tell them you want them out.

[Kimberly54]

Hi @Michelle-and-Ray0.  Good advice all around. 

SCREEN YOUR GUESTS, and maybe look at updating your house rules. No smoking is no smoking, FULL STOP.

It's not so much a 'drug' issue now that marijuana is truly starting to be accepted, and (except for high-school students), it can have some great benefits.  Heck, lots of prescription drugs can make someone 'loopy'.  Recreational ab-use of these seem to a bit of a 'human nature' issue... alcohol prohibition in the US was completely unsuccessful. 

There are plenty of ways to take the stuff if it's to ameliorate pain or whatever.  Extracts, candies... the market is full of this stuff and it will not stink up your house. 

No smoking means just that. 

Best,

[Kelly149]

@Jessica137 my rules state that guest is responsible for not leaving behind smells of any kind (no judgment implied there, just the pragmatic you can't leave behind a smell) so regardless of how that smell is being generated the fact that your house is getting smelled up is not ok

[Kimberly54]

Wow! @Kelly149, I'm going to steal some of your house rules!  Great job!

Personally I would love to banish the use of perfumes and colognes, but that's hard.

The guy who came to my house yesterday (flood issues) stunk to high-heaven, and I could smell him hours later. 

In San Diego County (generally) we have it pretty easy... especially on the coast, we've had NO SMOKING CITIES for more than 20 years.  Yep, you can't even smoke on the street!  In a restaurant?  Not a chance.  A no-smoking zone in a restaurant is like a no-peeing zone in a swimming pool.  

Best!

[Jessica137]

Thank you @Michelle-and-Ray0 @Kimberly54 @Kelly149 @Gerry-And-Rashid0 

My guest left today and the house does not have any lingering smell.  As I said above, I did not think he was smoking marijuana because the house did not have any smoke and I know what that smoke smells like.  This was different.  I figured out (am pretty sure), he was vaporizing marijuana and when he did it, he and the house smelled.  I don't think he did it prior to him leaving early this morning, because the house smells fine now.  

Since this is the first time I have had this issue in the 4 years I have been hosting, I don't think I will say anything about medical marijuana in my rules (rules are already pretty extensive - I have a big house and host groups of 4 or more people).  Hopefully, this issue will not come up again in the next 4 years!

Thanks all for your advise and help.  Jessica 

[Paul154]

It is possible he is not disrepecting you by breaking the rules.

I just had a guest leave the room smelling of marijuana. Not terrible, but a little bit.

They left the room neat and clean, but I found a tiny bit of marijuana on the floor.

That little bit smelled up the whole room, not their smoking. Fortunately, removing that bit cleared up the smell.

To cover yourself change your house rule to "No Smoking. Do not leave room smelling of tabacco or marijuana"

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Perhaps add "or vaping of any kind" to your no smoking rule.

[Unity0]

Hi Jessica,

Medicinal and recreational cannabis use is legal in the state of California and is not federally legal in the United States.  If you're not comfortable with cannabis consumption on your property then be transparent with your listing.  

If you permit alcohol consumption, will you also permit cannabis edibles, tinctures and topicals?  Are you flatly against everything cannabis or is it the smoking that bothers you?

This matters for the language you'll use in your listing regarding cannabis consumption.  Rather than using the word "smoking", you may prefer the word "consumption" followed by a list of what your definition of consumption is.

Be transparent with your guests on why you're not cannabis friendly inside your home or on your property.  State this near the top of your listing so potential guests will see this rule immediately.  Cannabis consumers do not wish to book a non-cannabis friendly home.

Here's a sample of how to politely phrase it while clearly stating your boundaries:

"We're not a cannabis friendly accommodation.  Although cannabis is medicinally and recreationally legal in the state of California, it's not federally legal in the United States.  Our employers abide by federal cannabis regulations which means we do to.   Kindly do not smoke cannabis inside our home or on our property - this includes smoking dry flower, dabbing or vaping oil cartridges."

or,

"We're not a cannabis friendly accommodation.  Although cannabis is medicinally and recreationally legal in the state of California, it's not federally legal in the United States.  Our employers abide by federal cannabis regulations which means we do to.   Kindly do not consume cannabis inside our home or on our property - this includes smoking dry flower, dabbing, vaping oil cartridges, edibles, tinctures and topicals."

Education is key and this is your home.   There's still stigma, federal laws and random employment drug testing associated with cannabis consumption and if you feel worried about your job or what neighbours will think or do if they smell cannabis, then your choice to not allow cannabis consumption on your property is legitimate.

Be kind, open minded and remember not all cannabis consumers are disrespectful or hippies or generally undesirable.

Best wishes,

Unity