Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

jakeXT

(10,575 posts)
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 11:12 AM Nov 2013

Police use 'nose telescope' for cannabis odour mapping

Source: Telegraph

Police in Denver are using a nose telescope to tackle odours from the recreational use of marijuana

As more cities in America legalise the drug, attention has switched to the pungent smell that wafts from the joint itself.

Denver has passed a new “odour ordinance” with a potential $2,000 (£1,247) fine for anyone found guilty of polluting the atmosphere.

The need to draw up standards emerged because of the confusion over the legal position of whether somebody smoking marijuana in their own home could be committing an environmental offence when the smell seeps into the street.

Under the new law an offence is committed if the odour is detectable when the smoke is mixed with seven times the volume of clean air.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10448756/Police-use-nose-telescope-for-cannabis-odour-mapping.html

40 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Police use 'nose telescope' for cannabis odour mapping (Original Post) jakeXT Nov 2013 OP
My God...Professor Farnsworth's Smelloscope is real! Arkana Nov 2013 #1
I'm pretty sure anthropoligists will one day Blue_Tires Nov 2013 #12
Don't forget, you still have Zoidberg. Arkana Nov 2013 #33
As long as you don't make me smell Uranus. Nine Nov 2013 #20
I'm sorry, Fry, but that planet was renamed in 2620 Arkana Nov 2013 #32
One word... yesphan Nov 2013 #2
Dear fascist, give it a fucking break. Schema Thing Nov 2013 #3
The OP is sensationalistic kristopher Nov 2013 #8
ah. thanks. Schema Thing Nov 2013 #10
This message was self-deleted by its author Trillo Nov 2013 #14
Ha..I read Ben STILLER LiberalLovinLug Nov 2013 #18
Man somebody needs to give those officials in Denver something to do snooper2 Nov 2013 #4
Wow that thing could hold a lotta blow Blue Owl Nov 2013 #5
Everyone should get themselves a pet... freebrew Nov 2013 #6
Now if we could only find pot that smells that good Politicalboi Nov 2013 #27
Please! Please! Can I have this job?!! KansDem Nov 2013 #7
I was just reminded of the "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.." Archae Nov 2013 #9
YES! I immediately thought of that! Gruenemann Nov 2013 #11
I think you're right. Archae Nov 2013 #13
"There's only one thing about Mexican food and beer." says Fat Freddie as he lifts his leg and woofless Nov 2013 #19
I thought of that right away too Cirque du So-What Nov 2013 #31
If plants are grown in a greenhouse or indoors, the odor can be eliminated with ozone generators Trillo Nov 2013 #15
What about the pungent odor of my neighbor's lilacs? Maedhros Nov 2013 #16
Or their baby's diaper... Or Dad's B.O. tridim Nov 2013 #28
Yes, but you'd really have to loathe marijuana to compare its smell to dirty diapers. Trillo Nov 2013 #36
It's my favorite odor on Earth. :) tridim Nov 2013 #37
Does the ordinance apply to other odors as well? surrealAmerican Nov 2013 #17
It's about the joint man. Now let me extrapolate YOHABLO Nov 2013 #21
Thisis fucking absurd. thefool_wa Nov 2013 #22
Exploring new income streams..... DeSwiss Nov 2013 #24
It's deplorable. thefool_wa Nov 2013 #25
We have too many FUCKING POLICE DeSwiss Nov 2013 #23
Eliminates Byrne Grants and transfers of military equiptment to local police. Dawson Leery Nov 2013 #26
WTF Phlem Nov 2013 #29
How long until a false positive.... HooptieWagon Nov 2013 #30
$2000 fine for anyone found guilty of polluting the atmoshpere. .. olddad56 Nov 2013 #34
^^ exactly! Locrian Nov 2013 #35
Well, it gives the nay-sayers, prudes, abolitionists, holier-than-thou freaks 99th_Monkey Nov 2013 #38
Vape! 1000words Nov 2013 #39
A joint gives off the most scent because it's constantly burning. nyquil_man Nov 2013 #40

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
12. I'm pretty sure anthropoligists will one day
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 01:12 PM
Nov 2013

see Futurama as one of the true prophetic art mediums of our era...

Arkana

(24,347 posts)
32. I'm sorry, Fry, but that planet was renamed in 2620
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 06:01 PM
Nov 2013

to stop people from making that joke.

Fry: What's it called now?

Professor: Urectum.

kristopher

(29,798 posts)
8. The OP is sensationalistic
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 12:33 PM
Nov 2013
When pot smells in Denver, the Nasal Ranger goes in to investigate
By Jeremy P. Meyer
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/11/2013 12:01:00 AM MST



Ben Siller of Denver environmental health uses the Nasal Ranger, a device that helps detect the intensity of an odor. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)
...

Siller will bring his device to the area and sniff the air, determining whether the odor violates the city odor law. Rarely does that happen.

...The pungent odor of marijuana plants or even second-hand pot smoke won't violate the odor law, which is determined by volume. A violation occurs after the odor exceeds the 7-1 ratio — when one volume of odor is detectable with seven or more volumes of nonodorous air.

The Nasal Ranger — the conelike contraption that Siller attaches to his nose — dials in the strength of the odor. Almost never does the smell surpass the 7-to-1 dilution threshold.

It hasn't happened since 1994. Odors would have to be pretty strong, an industrial-level aroma, like what would come from an ill-managed rendering plant.

...

http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_24496810/when-pot-smells-denver-nasal-ranger-goes-investigate


Denver’s anti-marijuana-smell proposal nearly snuffed out
Monday, October 14, 2013
by Jake Ellison

If you do this in Denver – even on your own property – and someone smells it … you could get hit with a year in jail and $999 fine if a new law goes through the city council.
(Joshua Trujillo, seattlepi.com)

The proposed city ordinancein Denver that would re-criminalize possession of marijuana in some public places and impose a year in jail and $999 fine for marijuana smell got what seemed to be a pretty cool reception today.

A council committee there took up the ordinance, beat it up and promised to revisit it, likely significantly redrafted, sometime down the road.


What’s it matter to Seattle/Washington and The Pot Blog?

The proposed rules came about as backlash to open use of marijuana in the city and lingering concerns about the social issues legal pot brings up: How kids will perceive marijuana use, whether its use will degrade the business climate downtown and if people will have to live with the smell of pot the next time they throw a birthday party for their kid in a park …

Consequently, it seems prudent to expect efforts to curtail marijuana use here as the ...


http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_24496810/when-pot-smells-denver-nasal-ranger-goes-investigate

Response to kristopher (Reply #8)

LiberalLovinLug

(14,154 posts)
18. Ha..I read Ben STILLER
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 02:47 PM
Nov 2013

And I can imagine a new comedy with Stiller as an Odor Cop running around with that big nose megaphone.

 

snooper2

(30,151 posts)
4. Man somebody needs to give those officials in Denver something to do
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 11:28 AM
Nov 2013

Maybe just take the rest of the year off, PAID!

It'll end up being in the best interests of everyone!

freebrew

(1,917 posts)
6. Everyone should get themselves a pet...
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 11:55 AM
Nov 2013

skunk. Cute little critters, they can even keep the scent glands. They only spray when they're scared or excited...

Maybe they can be trained to spray cops???

 

Politicalboi

(15,189 posts)
27. Now if we could only find pot that smells that good
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 03:53 PM
Nov 2013

And is strong like it used to be. Pot even if double bagged, you can smell it. The good old days.

KansDem

(28,498 posts)
7. Please! Please! Can I have this job?!!
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 12:19 PM
Nov 2013
Under the new law an offence is committed if the odour is detectable when the smoke is mixed with seven times the volume of clean air


Ofc. KansDem, have you detected cannabis coming from that house?
Yeah...yeah...just a few more hits, er, "detections"...I want to be absolutely certain. Yeah...yeah...

Archae

(46,262 posts)
9. I was just reminded of the "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.."
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 12:37 PM
Nov 2013

One of the comics had Neddy the Narc installing a "smell bug" in the Brothers' pad.

Neddy turned the sensitivity up to max, and they had just returned from eating out Mexican.

Fat Freddy farts into the bug.

Gruenemann

(967 posts)
11. YES! I immediately thought of that!
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 01:08 PM
Nov 2013

I never would have thought that the Freak Brothers were predicting the future!

As I recall, though, the nark's name was Norbert

Archae

(46,262 posts)
13. I think you're right.
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 01:25 PM
Nov 2013

Suffice to say, he was rather inept.

I liked the time he cut into the Brothers' couch, not knowing it was an inflatable one, that they had blown up with nitrous oxide.
(Yup, he got stoned out of his gourd.)

woofless

(2,670 posts)
19. "There's only one thing about Mexican food and beer." says Fat Freddie as he lifts his leg and
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 02:50 PM
Nov 2013

rrrrriipppppppppppps one.

Cirque du So-What

(25,812 posts)
31. I thought of that right away too
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 05:55 PM
Nov 2013

Funny how a silly cartoon from 40 years ago can stay with you like that, popping back into your consciousness at the slightest provocation.

Trillo

(9,154 posts)
15. If plants are grown in a greenhouse or indoors, the odor can be eliminated with ozone generators
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 01:46 PM
Nov 2013

provided that the ventilation system is well designed. HOWEVER, it is well known that ozone is harmful to human health.

So, which is worse, the "pungent odor" of the marijuana plants your neighbor is growing? Or the more deadly properties of O3 (ozone) that they're, unknown to you, causing you to breathe?

Don't believe me, look this stuff up, it's all available online. This will get you started:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=marijuana+ozone

 

Maedhros

(10,007 posts)
16. What about the pungent odor of my neighbor's lilacs?
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 02:05 PM
Nov 2013

Or rosemary bush? Or fresh-cut lawn? Or pine trees?

To be safe, we need to eliminate ALL plants to protect our delicate noses.

tridim

(45,358 posts)
28. Or their baby's diaper... Or Dad's B.O.
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 03:54 PM
Nov 2013

Things smell, some good, some bad. That's just the way it is society.

Trillo

(9,154 posts)
36. Yes, but you'd really have to loathe marijuana to compare its smell to dirty diapers.
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 09:46 PM
Nov 2013

It would be much more accurate to compare it to the smell of roses, or like the other poster said, some kind of flower. Folks who use or grow marijuana tend to believe its fragrance pleasant and "clean".

surrealAmerican

(11,340 posts)
17. Does the ordinance apply to other odors as well?
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 02:18 PM
Nov 2013

I can't believe the local industries let this happen if it does.

 

YOHABLO

(7,358 posts)
21. It's about the joint man. Now let me extrapolate
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 03:01 PM
Nov 2013

The post states: "As more cities in America legalese the drug, attention has switched to the pungent smell that wafts from the joint itself. "

I have never heard of such ridiculous hypocrisy. How many decades have citizens been standing outside .. and inside, for that matter, smoking cigarettes? So they can't strike down the legalization of the marijuana .. so they go after the ''smell'' (?) Are you F.ing Kidding Me? So they can't bust you for possession .. but can bust you for the smell. I don't smoke pot but I don't find the smell half as offensive as second hand smoke from cigarettes. Second hand smoke from cigarettes causes cancer .. proven! I only hear about the benefits of marijuana (for medicinal use of course) ha ha .. That's just f'd up folks.

thefool_wa

(1,867 posts)
22. Thisis fucking absurd.
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 03:14 PM
Nov 2013

They REALLY want to be able to arrest people for something that is completely harmless. WHY!!!???

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
24. Exploring new income streams.....
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 03:36 PM
Nov 2013

...now that they've lost the others related to smoking cannabis.

- It's the American way.....

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
23. We have too many FUCKING POLICE
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 03:27 PM
Nov 2013
- And not enough cheap vaporizers that kill cannabis smell. Oh.

K&R
[center]
[/center]

Phlem

(6,323 posts)
29. WTF
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 04:00 PM
Nov 2013

"for anyone found guilty of polluting the atmosphere." I can so think of bigger fish to fry than pot smokers for that. But noooooo it all the evil pot smokers.





-p

olddad56

(5,732 posts)
34. $2000 fine for anyone found guilty of polluting the atmoshpere. ..
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 07:41 PM
Nov 2013

I guess driving a gasoline powered vehicle is illegal then. No more cars for Denver. May as well shutdown the airport also. No more food arriving to the grocery stores by truck.

Is it the odor they are concerned about, or actual air pollution. I find the smell of pot less offense that most perfumes.

Needless to say, farting could get you a $2000 fine.

I think they might want to rethink this one.

Locrian

(4,522 posts)
35. ^^ exactly!
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 07:45 PM
Nov 2013

What a fuc***ng WASTE. How about using it for tracking down actual pollution, like Koch brothers factories.

 

99th_Monkey

(19,326 posts)
38. Well, it gives the nay-sayers, prudes, abolitionists, holier-than-thou freaks
Fri Nov 15, 2013, 02:58 PM
Nov 2013

something to do.

I wish it were something that didn't involve fucking up other people's lives who
are engaging in an activity just voted to be 100% LEGAL.

It's ironic in a sick kind of way that they are using "environmental" laws to
do it.

nyquil_man

(1,443 posts)
40. A joint gives off the most scent because it's constantly burning.
Fri Nov 15, 2013, 03:05 PM
Nov 2013

I understand its appeal, but it is pretty wasteful.

(I'm speaking hypothetically, of course )

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Police use 'nose telescop...