Thank you, Kimberly Babineau, for your very insightful March 15 letter to the editor regarding the possibility of a marijuana field on Country Club Road in Greenfield. I want to echo your sentiments about growing marijuana in a residential area. I live in a neighborhood where a neighbor is growing their maximum number of 12 plants in their back yard. The smell is exactly as you described, “a family of skunks living in your house.” The breathing of the skunk odor is bad enough, and to compound it with any toxins that may be given off is frightening.
I understand that to grow and use marijuana is legal, however, with this freedom comes a responsibility to others around them. As with the no-smoking ban in public buildings, there are other areas to be looked at with the marijuana law, too. First, the odor is offensive. What are the second-hand effects of inhaling the smelly odor given off by the plant? Are there by-laws concerning how close to other properties the plants should be? How close are your neighbors’ houses? If it’s abutting your back yard, you cannot escape it! In the summer, I can’t open windows on that side of the house or even use ceiling fans because that draws the air inside and circulates it through the room. In addition, the odor DOES restrict the use of my backyard.
A plastic hoop enclosure does not prevent the aroma from escaping! A large fan exhausts the odor out of the enclosure and into the air around the neighborhood. Plus a fan that runs 24/7 creates a sound pollution as well.
The boards of health in the towns of Franklin County must pay attention to this growing problem in residential areas. Pun intended!!
Carol Gloski
Turners Falls