San Francisco Bans Smoking Tobacco in Apartments but Allows Cannabis

In San Francisco, city officials have banned smoking tobacco and electronic cigarettes in apartment buildings, while still allowing residents to smoke cannabis. The restriction applies to residents of buildings with at least three units.

“A person shouldn’t have to live only in a single-family home to be able to breathe clean air,” stated the city’s Board of Supervisors.

Initially, authorities also wanted to ban smoking cannabis in apartments, which sparked a strong reaction from city residents. Unlike regular smokers, who can go outside to smoke, it is illegal to use cannabis in all public places. As a result, apartments remain the only legal place for people to smoke cannabis without breaking the law.

However, many human rights advocates and medical professionals have criticized the new regulation. “These regulators should be addressing real problems, not issues related to people’s movement, location, or how we function in society,” said the head of one dispensary.

Previously, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs—a list of substances subject to the strictest controls. This decision will help facilitate further medical and scientific research into cannabis and its derivatives.