Neighbour’s cannabis smoking leaves pensioner’s health in tatters

The 74-year-old, whose name and address is being withheld for her own protection, has spoken about her year of “living hell”, with her neighbours’ drug addiction damaging her health.

The furious great-grandmother has described how the flats complex that she lives in, along with other elderly neighbours, some as old as 90, has a “putrid” odour of cannabis that lingers day and night.

Since her neighbours moved into the complex in November last year, the outraged Littlehampton woman noticed her breathing has become difficult and her sleeping pattern has become more and more erratic.

She said: “I am just at my wits end. I am sick of getting up at 3am because of the cannabis. The smell is putrid – truly horrible. Some nights I struggle to breathe.

“My health has suffered tremendously because of the neighbours. I have been feeling ill since they came last November.

“I just felt sick and dizzy and horrible. I went to the doctors and he took my blood pressure and ran some tests.

“Then, he told me that I had cannabis fumes in my system. I was horrified when I first heard.”

Since being told about the passive smoke inhalation, the distressed 74-year-old has suffered an infection in her legs, which she also believes is related to the cannabis fumes she is forced to breathe in on a daily basis.

The infection, which is currently being treated with antibiotics, has left the woman crippled and barely able to walk.

“The infection was so painful. My legs felt like they were burning. Right now I struggle to walk,” she said.

“This whole thing is too much. My husband died four years ago and I was just coming out of a black hole of grief. I can’t take this any more.

“What I can’t understand is how police can let them live here among decent people. It does not seem fair to me.”

Sussex Police said it is currently investigating claims of illegal drug use at the property and a 37-year-old man living there had already been arrested and charged with possession of a class B drug.

He appeared at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (November 15) and was bailed until Wednesday, December 21.

A police spokeswoman said community support officers were now working with residents in the road to offer reassurance.

On Sunday (November 13) a meeting took place between officers, the flat’s owner and chairman, the management committee and outraged residents to discuss future action. The couple have since left the flat.

Police have now installed an emergency phone line into the 74-year-old’s home, which will automatically send officers to the house within minutes, if they are called.

Research has shown inhaled fumes from cannabis smoke contain more harmful toxins than tobacco.

Cannabis fumes can contain 20 times as much ammonia, a chemical linked to cancer, when compared with regular cigarette smoke. It can also contain five times as much hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides, which are linked to heart and lung damage, respectively.

Miranda Watson, from the British Lung Foundation, said: “All kinds of passive smoke, particularly in an enclosed space, have a detrimental effect on the health of those exposed, and second-hand smoke from cannabis is no exception.

“Research has shown some chemicals are present in much higher levels in marijuana smoke than tobacco, and there is a need to further explore the link between cannabis smoke and chronic respiratory diseases.”