Where marijuana is legal, complaints rise about the smell

Many critics predicted a rise in public intoxication, buzzed driving and crime after Colorado legalized pot, and concerns about children’s exposure to the drug. But one of the biggest complaints so far has been odor issues as grow operations expand. When pot was illegal, those operations often took measures to contain the smell, including carbon-filtering the air. With the threat of prosecution gone, some cultivators are no longer worried.

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That can cause problems. High Valley Farms in Pitkin County has been the focus of a county commission probe as neighbors complain about a skunky aroma floating out of the facility.

“Six months ago our neighborhood smelled like a neighborhood, and now it smells like someone is holding up a package of marijuana to your face.,” neighbor Bart Axelman told the Denver Post.

But even Mr. Axelman conceded that, despite his complaint, he’s “in no way opposed” to the state’s burgeoning marijuana business.

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