The scent of cannabis has raised contention around the world. If a person does not use a personal filter, smoking and vaping weed emit a smell. Working at a production facility will have most going home reeking of pot. A cannabis farm will likely emit an aroma to the surrounding area late in flowering. Connoisseurs may love it, but not everyone is a fan.
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Cannabis smell has become a part of the “not in my back yard” or NIMBY attitude in some states where neighborhoods lash out against operations that stink up the area. In others, it is a law enforcement tool that may be used to persecute Black and brown people whose cars may emit a weed scent during a routine traffic stop. Now, the problem of policing cannabis smell is cropping up overseas.
Malta legalized cannabis in the final days of 2021, opening the law to home cultivation and personal use. Consumption is allowed inside a private residence. This access may shrink for many after a list of cannabis ordinances was passed in the country.
The Maltese Parliament unanimously passed a group of cannabis amendments, one of which is garnering some negative attention, MaltaToday reports. Any cannabis odor that causes a nuisance to third parties will now be liable to a penalty of about $256 (€235). It is unclear whether officials will define what is officially deemed a public nuisance. It appears this will be dictated by individual neighbors and responding law enforcement.
The ordinance also sets a new required distance from schools and parks for anyone growing cannabis. Those who live within 250 meters of a school or playground will be stripped of their home grow rights.
This was not the ordinance driving the amendments. The legal changes define cannabis to set a line between psychoactive and non-psychoactive cannabinoids. It also increases fines for allowing minors into the premises. Those have not elicited the same arguments as the proposed smell and home grow changes, which advocates are certain violate promises made throughout the Maltese legalization process.
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Cannabis advocacy groups ReLeaf Malta and Moviment Graffitti issued a joint statement expressing that the ordinances threaten privacy rights. They assert that someone should not worry that a joint they smoke in their home could result in a fine if their neighbors decide it’s a nuisance.
Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà shared his apprehensions about the pending odor violations with a Maltese television program called Xtra. Gafà explained that enforcing this ordinance is “very difficult.”
He admitted that he could not decipher the smell of a cigar, joint, or vape from one another. The official pointed out that the police force is not scent-trained, and iterated that the Parliament must pass ordinances that can be logically enforced.
A somewhat similar case was tried in the DC Court of Appeals in 2023. The Court barred an elderly man from smoking cannabis in his basement apartment in perpetuity after a neighbor complained about the wafting smoke giving her headaches. A judge ruled that if he smoked in the space again, he would be held in contempt of court. This is similar to the situation playing out in Malta, where neighbors can now decide whether they are bothered by gathering smoke.
The smell of cannabis has stirred up conversations all over. It is unknown how this law will be enforced, especially since the police commissioner remains unsure. As they figure it out, Maltese stoners may want to invest in some smell-removing candles or air filters.
