What are my neighbors smoking--crack or meth?

[MsAnthropy]

Boy do I resent having to do somebody else's drugs just because I live in an old building. I haven't tried either drug except second hand. Are the effects the same? I wake up in a complete frenzy with my entire apartment in a stinky fog, my heart rate nearly doubled, my throat sore. I'm running around at 5:00 AM opening all the windows to try to air the place out. The smell is chemical-y and nauseating. I HATE MY NEIGHBORS!

[slackmaster]

1. Call the fire department - that chemical could be explosive

Seriously, don't put up with crap like that.

[MsAnthropy]

3. I think that should be my next step--landlord didn't seem to care

[Maddy McCall]

6. Call the cops NOW.

You don't pay rent to be forced to do illicit drugs against your will. If the landlord won't handle it, the cops surely will.

Call them now. 911. It's that easy. And then tell the dispatcher exactly what you told us. You aren't breaking any laws and you pay rent. You deserve better.

Let us know what happens.

[Truman01]

16. I agree, call the cops, it could be a meth lab.

If it is, everyone in your building is in danger.

TC

[laheina]

23. No shit

A building in the first apartment complex that I lived in burned down because of a meth lab in it. I came home to a mob of guys in HazMat bio suits that had cordoned off the whole area.

[liberalnurse]

2. Can you move?

Why does your landloard permit this?

[MsAnthropy]

5. He's new at landlording, tried to make excuses

I'm in a duplex for the first time, which I discovered has even less sound/smell proofing than an apartment.

[Maddy McCall]

9. He's about to learn a serious lesson...

that he should take complaints like yours very seriously.

Call the cops. You are aware that exposure to meth manufacture can cause serious health problems? I agree with the poster down this thread. Pack some clothes, just in case you aren't let back into your apartment while the police investigate the other apartment.

Call now.

[elehhhhna]

4. I think meth labs emit a strong chem smell...

start packing--if it IS a lab, you'll probably not be allowed in for awhile...those chems are highly explosive.

[Maddy McCall]

7. That's what I am betting it is.

Strong smell is the giveaway.

[MsAnthropy]

8. Boy would I like to see all of them go up!

I'd love to take a drug test right now just to see what I'm inhaling.

[Maddy McCall]

10. If they are manufacturing, which is what it sounds like...

it won't be just their duplex that is evacuated, but the whole city block. Meth labs are extremely dangerous--very flamable--smelling the caustic chemicals is bad enough, but if one spark happens in their apartment, POOF! Up goes a whole city block.

On edit: What you may be smelling is anhydrous ammonia, which is also used to make bombs. That's what Tim McVey used to bring down the OK fed building.

Seriously, you really need to call the police, get some stuff together, and stand back, in case you are forced to evacuate.

[blueknight]

11. ms,

what state are you in? i know hear in ky the police and fire depts are VERY familiar with the smell of illegal labs

[MsAnthropy]

14. Minnesota

I called the cops once and they said they didn't smell anything and they couldn't do anything unless they actually saw them doing it. They were NOT very helpful.

[KurtNYC]

12. Crack smells like burning plastic

when smoked and pretty similar when being cooked up (I had a neighbor in L.A. and I thought the refrigerator was on fire -- smells like burning plastic and kind of that electrical fire smell).

Meth smells like a chemical BO (sweat) times 100. Good luck.

[MsAnthropy]

17. I bet it's crack--it does have that plastic-y smell

That stuff is so vile. I grew up in the 60s and 70s when all we had to smell was pot and I thought it smelled wonderful!

[Gyre]

13. Meth lab

Extremely explosive and stinky. Call the police.

Gyre

[TX-RAT]

15. May be cooking meth or may be huffing

Either way call the police and report it. Are there children living there?

[MsAnthropy]

18. No kids, thank god

But at 48 I'm too old to be babysitting the college-age idiots upstairs. If they want to do drugs they can move back to the dorm or buy a house.

[elehhhhna]

19. if the cops won't / don't respond, call the FBI

and tell them.

[slackmaster]

20. Or the DEA

Very likely to take interest in a potential drug manufacturing situation.

[elehhhhna]

21. I'm hoping the anhydrous ammonia bomb smell might get all their att'n. !

[CornField]

22. Don't phone the police--- phone the fire department

Tell the 911 dispatcher that there is an unusual odor in your apartment that you believe is coming from a neighboring unit. Tell them the substance is irritating your throat... what it smells like... whatever else... and request firefighters.

Police have to play by rules and you can bet that your neighbors (if they have any brains at all) are listening to the police scanner. Firefighters protect property and, as such, do not need warrants and the other red tape which limits the police. They have the authority to enter every apartment in your building -- if something is there, they'll find it.

Another bonus prize is that firefighters are typically EMTs. They'll be able to treat whomever has been exposed to these fumes immediately.

[MsAnthropy]

24. Fantastic! I didn't know that--thanks so much for the info.

[slackmaster]

25. Excellent advise

If the firefighters see something illegal going on they will call the police.