Big Brother policing; the smell of marijuana could lead to your arrest

Denver, CO - When citizens of Denver inevitably complain about the smell of legalized marijuana, it will be a job for the “Nasal Ranger” to sniff out justice.

"Futurama's" Professor Farnsworth isn't the only one with a powerful smelloscope. In Denver, when a complaint is filed about marijuana odor in an area, the Department of Public Health's Ben Siller is called out with his field olfactometer to sniff around and see if the law has been broken.  Siller told 7News that he's mostly called out to smell marijuana odor complaints from businesses that grow marijuana, not from marijuana smokers enjoying some legal weed in the privacy of their own homes. Siller, who has been investigating odor complaints for 26 years, uses the department's Nasal Ranger device to determine how strong the odor is and if a violation has occurred. The Denver Post reports that the odor has to reach a level of 8:1 or greater which can mean a fine of up to $2,000. But that hasn't happened since 1994. "It has to be a very strong odor," Siller said to The Denver Post for the Nasal Ranger to identify an odor that exceeds even the 7:1 ratio, which generally is of a very strong industrial odor. “We are going to be increasing our staff level, adding a person that would be devoted strictly to dealing with marijuana,” environmental operations manager Gary Lasswell told 7News.The Nasal Ranger is a portable odor detecting and measuring instrument that can quantify odor strength in ambient air, according to device developers St. Croix Sensory. The stink-measuring device, and its developers in Stillwater, Minn. -- which also hold odor training classes for individuals interested in becoming master sniffers -- were featured on the History Channel's Modern Marvels "Stink" episode exploring smelly science. Recently, the Denver City Council was considering making the smell of marijuana, or even the sight of someone smoking marijuana, illegal if it could be smelled or seen by others, but have not yet reached a decision on the ordinance.  “Odor can be subjective,” Council President Mary Beth Susman told the Post. “It’s hard to legislate odor. The strength that is required to register on the Nasal Ranger is something we need to look at. I also wonder if people will get used to the smell and the dislike of it now may change over time.”http://dailycaller.com/2013/11/12/meet-denvers-nasal-ranger-for-sniffing-out-marijuana-odor-violations/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/company-develops-nasal-ra_n_4256193.html