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An Arizona Senate committee last week advanced a proposal seeking to create a new misdemeanor crime for excessive cannabis smoke and odor, 13 News reports.
The bill, SB1725, would treat the issue as a public nuisance concern, making it a class 3 misdemeanor to cause or create “excessive” cannabis smoke — even on private residential property. Another bill, SCR1048, seeks to put an identical proposal before voters as a ballot initiative.
Neither bill explicitly defines what “excessive” means in the context of what qualifies as a public nuisance. The bill does, however, state that “it is presumed that a person who creates excessive marijuana smoke and odor causes a condition that endangers the safety or health of others.”
The bills’ sponsor, state Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R), said the proposal is not looking to solve “some sort of major crime issue, but it is trying to highlight what has become a growing problem.”
Mesnard said that he’s encountered the issue at his own home, having detected the smell of cannabis smoke outside of his childrens’ bedroom windows.
“If we’re going to have recreational marijuana in Arizona, we need to be responsible about it, especially as it could impact kids.” — Mesnard, in a statement
The Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee voted 5-2 to advance the proposal on Friday.
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