Earlier this month, the city of Pendleton, Ore., decided to tweak its nuisance ordinance to include a $500 fine for excessive marijuana smoke emanating from a property—though the New York Daily News notes that marijuana itself becomes legal in Oregon in July. "With great relief," Peter Walters saw one scourge on society eliminated, and penned a letter to the East Oregonian urging the council to correct "the other offensive smell that plagues our community: farts." With that, Walters was off to the races, complaining that "while farting may be legal in Oregon, many (including myself) are offended by the flatulent stench," and that "habitual farters argue that they need to fart for medical reasons but that doesn’t mean my kids should have to smell their farts," and that council should stop "pretending not to notice."
Walters cites a smelly roommate "whose recreational farting has been negatively affecting my quality of life for several months now." Unless council takes action, "it's as if he who smelt it, dealt it. I call on our city council to set aside all other work and address this problem." The letter is getting some attention, and NBC News reports that the city council president appears to be taking it in stride. "You have to have a sense of humor regarding the letter," he says. "I think, it's a matter of, is it taken out of context? Absolutely. This is here to protect the public for the public's rights," he says of the pot ordinance. "It's not here to infringe on anyone." (And anyway, science says that sniffing farts is healthy.)
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