Thulsadoom

Those of us that have been cycling for a heck of a lot longer than that have been smelling pot from passing cars for, you know, ever.

JoeyBike

I smell people smoking weed all the time. From their front porch, in front of bars, and yes, inside their cars if the windows are open. I am much more worried about drunks than pot-heads behind the wheel. I don't think many people who smoke pot get aggressive or belligerent. They just want more potato chips.

Aren't there studies that show pot smoking can heighten awareness? Not like caffeine as a stimulant but some other physiological mechanism. I'm just too lazy to look it up and I have no personal experience with pot. Alcohol just puts me to sleep and I don't really enjoy the taste (or the expense) so except for the occasional sip of Champagne I pretty much stick to water. I might be tempted to try pot if they could remove that smell. Can't stand it for long. Cigs, cigars, and pipes are in the same vein for me. Nasty.

Grillparzer

Marijuana use while driving would count as a DUI if the driver had smoked a sufficient amount to impair their driving, otherwise it is just possession. In a lot of places where it is still illegal, the police aren't making arrests for it unless the suspects are caught with a considerable amount. Marijuana is too common of a substance, its too time consuming to make a case, and judges aren't imposing harsh sentences for a crime that probably won't be a crime much longer. The more likely result when someone is caught with marijuana is the police officer will pour it out on to the ground and kick it in to the dirt. The only time I arrested someone who had been smoking and charged them with DUI was when they feel asleep at an intersection waiting for the stop sign to turn green.

Dave Cutter

At any given time... one out of five drivers are not licensed to drive... or insured. Those stats have been consistent for decades.

I regularly see/smell drivers smoking [pot], and/or drinking [beer], and/or texting. I assume people also drive when sleepy, tired, and emotionally distressed. From time-to-time.... I come upon an accident. But accidents are much more rare than I would expect them to be. Maybe.... impaired driving really isn't the danger we might guess it is. Maybe hurrying is what causes most accidents.

Be careful out there. Don't hurry.

kickstart

I catch a wiff a lot more often since its been legalized here in Was, but I still wouldn't say it happens very often.

Null66

Well, it's not...

Not even equivalent to the additional risk of driving while smoking cigarettes...

But we accept risks we're used to discounting them to almost no consequence, and anything DIFFERENT, well that's scary...

mr_bill

It's one of my triggers - along with cigar smoke and rollin' coal.

Yes, I've noticed.

Driving, riding, walking, I've noticed.

(On tgfsf, mj triggers the smallest response. Cheap cigars the strongest.)

-mr. bill

JoeyBike

I waited long enough for someone to catch that.

A good friend of mine (best man at my wedding in fact) is a Louisiana State Trooper. He is always amused when giving a sobriety test and the person trying to stand on one foot and touch their nose responds "I couldn't do that SOBER!"

Phlorida

I smell cigarette smoke coming from cars on every ride but have never smelled pot smoke. I personally would prefer the pot smell but that's me.

Spld cyclist

I smell it from a passing car now and again when I'm cycling. No epidemic around here that I've noticed, just once in a while. Just the other day, in fact, I noticed MJ smoke from a Domino's delivery vehicle. I was temped to call the police on that one, but I didn't get the license plate. No one should be driving high, but someone who is going to be driving all over for work *really* shouldn't be driving high.

Mr. Hairy Legs

It's considered normal here. Cigarette smoke, on the other hand...

mrodgers

This one is kind of funny. Dominos, with our drivers, guarantied delivered in 5 hours or less or your money back.

BobbyG

Here in Colorado, I rarely smelled pot on my commutes; but then they legalized medical marijuana and I started noticing the smell more often from passing cars and certain homes and apartments. Since full-blown legalization, It is even more common. As with alcohol, there are those that are responsible in its use, and as with alcohol there are those that are irresponsible in its use. When I encounter a car emitting the smell of marijuana I feel the same way as I do when I see a car with open alcohol containers (like a driver drinking from a beer can, a wine bottle, or even a liquor bottle). This person can't wait to "take the edge off" or get inebriated. They don't care about driving while impaired or becoming impaired. And since the pot or booze is being consumed while they are driving, they didn't evaluate their sobriety/impairment before taking the wheel. And since there are other THC delivery systems besides smoking, you don't know who's doing what. At least with the smell of MJ smoke, or visible alcohol containers, you have a chance to identify a potential hazard and avoid it.

I-Like-To-Bike

How exactly do you avoid the alleged potential hazard?

Cycle_of_life

Very well said; thank you, Bobby.

Mike

BobbyG

When I see a driver who I consider a hazard for whatever reason, I stay away. If I catch up to them at a light, I don't take the lane in front of them. I don't ride next to them. I don't allow myself to be in a "right-hook" situation with them. I don't trust they will signal (actually I don't trust anybody to signal). Even if they are one lane over, or have passed me, I watch to see if they can cause other drivers to swerve into the bike lane or to cause other drivers to brake suddenly. A lot of this is more pertinent when I, too am driving because of the potential to keep up with them in traffic. I guess this goes back to learning to drive in Chicago when my Dad would point out cars up ahead and ask me how their actions may affect me either directly or indirectly. I mean, it's not always life and death, but an emergency run-in with a curb or a bumper can ruin your commute.

I-Like-To-Bike

Responding appropriately to the driving behavior of nearby drivers sounds like standard "defensive driving/cycling" practice and should be independent of whatever odors may/may not be present.

Fargo Wolf

A stoned driver is just as dangerous to a cyclist as an impaired driver.

Given the fact that I live in the Province of British Columbia, my answer to the OP's question, is yes. It's not super common, but not rare either. I've also seen a couple of cyclists enjoying a Mary Jane while they ride.

To the OP, are you sure it was pot that you were smelling, or a cigar/cigarillo (cigarette sized cigar)? To me, they smell a lot alike.

BobbyG

Agreed.

Cycle_of_life

Fargo, yes, it was pot.

Some of the streets I ride down are long, residential blocks. No vehicle has passed me for a few moments, then, a car/van passes me at a fairly slow speed, I get the odor of pot, and then it quickly dissipates, since we are outdoors.

Then, sometimes, I will catch up to the same car at a traffic light or stop sign, and then the odor is much stronger, as I am now sitting next to the car for up to a minute while we wait for the light to change. In some cars, although not many, I can see someone in the car actually smoking. This also happens when I'm walking across streets, and not riding my bike.

Mike

RaleighSport

There's plenty of links to statistics in this thread that say otherwise.. but okay bud. I am curious about those of you who respond so negatively to the smell, why do you feel it causes such a hazard? Do you have reasons based on fact, or is it simply because you believe it's a hazard? Have you been endangered by a stoned driver? Is there a factual study etc etc? I'm really just trying to understand a perspective that to me seems to defy the statistics.

joeyduck

The cops in the town I grew up in once told my mom pot doesn't have a smell when she called to report tenants behind the business smoking up.
@Fargo Wolf I do not think they smell anything alike. Sometimes skunk versus crappy crappy weed is a hard thing to tell apart.

I have to say almost everyday down here I smell it.

I tend to classify all drivers as a threat. That being said I had a woman smoking a joint start to jaywalk towards me the other day. But it was just a pedestrian pedestrian in my commute, I think weed had nothing to do with it.

Spld cyclist

And the pizza may or may not have been consumed before the driver gets to the customer's house.

mrodgers

This thread is becoming pretty good at differentiating ex (possibly current) pot smokers and those who've never dappled in the stuff and just spit out all the misconceptions about marijuana that they've read since the days of "War on Drugs."

Example above. You certainly can tell apart a dead skunk on the road (I assume this is what you meant) from crappy crappy weed as if your weed smells like skunk, it is definitely not crappy crappy weed. Skunk weed goes for a premium over good weed, let alone crappy crappy weed.

joeyduck

You are right I don't smoke.

But in my experience and from friends skunky weed out here is not good. Out here in BC pot is a big thing and based on how often and who I see smoking skunky smelling stuff I do not think it is good.

But I'll let the experts weigh in.