Oregon is one of the few states that has legalized marijuana by way of Measure 91 which passed in 2014, and it will be completely legal to use in the state on July 1, 2015. However, there has been some local opposition within the state concerning this new measure. In Pendleton, Oregon, the city council recently approved a law that would add the smell of marijuana as a public nuisance violation after a few complaints came into the police department. One resident of Pendleton, Peter Walters, was not happy with this, and in a comical open letter, he proposed that public farting should be added to the list of the cityโs most pressing concerns and banned.
Waltersโ satirical letter pointed out the ridiculousness of the law
With the city considering marijuana as a nuisance odor based on the complaints of a few, Waltersโ letter highlights the fact that any smell could be considered a nuisance based on opinion alone. The satirical letter really does a great job of showing how silly the law is, and one gem from the letter was: โSome habitual farters argue that they need to fart for medical reasons but that doesnโt mean my kids should have to smell their farts.โ He also joked about how the council was neglecting more important issues saying, โClearly, there has been no issue of greater importance facing the city.โ Read the entire letter (
here).
The absurd Oregon marijuana law was passed after a few residents complained
Police in Pendleton supported the bill after just a few of the cityโs residents complained about the smell of marijuana near their home. One resident said that he canโt open his windows because of the odor from his neighborโs home, who grows marijuana. The city council passed the vote 6-1 to add marijuana specifically to a list of public nuisances, even though unpleasant smells have already been added to the list in the past.
Walters joked that his roommateโs farts were a serious problem
Pointing again to the ridiculousness of the law, Walters joked that his roommateโs farts were becoming a serious problem that the city council needed to pay attention to as their next priority. He wrote, โThis issue greatly affects me as I have a roommate whose recreational farting has been negatively affecting my quality of life for several months nowโฆ I call on our city council to set aside all other work and address this problem.โ The city has not commented on his request for an anti-farting law yet.
Pointing again to the ridiculousness of the law, Walters joked that his roommateโs farts were becoming a serious problem that the city council needed to pay attention to as their next priority. He wrote, โThis issue greatly affects me as I have a roommate whose recreational farting has been negatively affecting my quality of life for several months nowโฆ I call on our city council to set aside all other work and address this problem.โ The city has not commented on his request for an anti-farting law yet.