San Francisco bans smoking in buildings of three or more floors, except for cannabis

San Francisco residents who live in apartment buildings with three or more floors will no longer be allowed to smoke tobacco inside their apartments, but they can smoke cannabis, according to a new ordinance, approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

The ordinance – which also bans electronic cigarettes – aims to protect residents from secondhand smoke. The attempt to ban cannabis smoking indoors infuriated activists, who claimed that this law would strip away their only constitutionally legal place to smoke. Under California law, smoking cannabis in public places is illegal. “Unlike tobacco smokers, who can leave their homes and use tobacco in other areas where it is permitted, cannabis users do not have that legal alternative,” said supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who drafted an amendment to exempt cannabis from the ban. .

Cannabis users are only allowed to smoke at home, so this measure excludes them from the ban. | Photo – Robert McGowan, Unsplash

The City of San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1, with Supervisor Dean Preston voting against, and San Francisco is now the largest city in the country to ban smoking in apartment buildings. “It shouldn't be necessary to have to live in a single-family house to breathe clean air,” said President Norman Yee, who is leaving office but who wrote the ordinance. “This right must exist for every person and family, regardless of where they live or what their income is.”

The original proposal sought to ban residents from smoking cannabis in their apartments, with eight supervisors voting in favor of the proposal and three (Norman Yee, Gordon Mar and Ahsha Safaí) against removing cannabis from the decree. The draft ordinance drafted by Supervisor Norman Yee would take existing laws one step further and prohibit all residents – except those with medical cannabis cards – from smoking in buildings with three floors or more, including private apartment buildings, low-income buildings and condos.

The ordinance must now undergo a second vote by the council next week, considered only a formality. Thus, it must be signed by the president and will enter into force 30 days later.

San Francisco joins 63 California cities – including Alameda, Berkeley, Santa Clara and Santa Rosa – and counties that have enforced the ban.

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