Community Corner

San Rafael Smoking Ban Ignites Media Firestorm

San Rafael a "nutty, NorCal, leftist community," a conservative Southern California columnist says.

The city that gave birth to the world’s universal code for smoking weed is now making headlines for a code that won’t let you smoke anything – even in the privacy of your own home.

San Rafael last month enacted what might be one of the nation’s toughest smoking bans: A municipal code prohibiting lighting up in all duplex and multi-family residential units that share a common wall.

And people are noticing.

Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The wealthy Marin County city that spawned the “420” code in the 1970s is making news nationally and abroad.

The smoking law has sparked coverage in major national publications including ABC NewsFox NewsUnited Press International and Huffington Post, among many others.

Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It’s causing a stir in London, too, with the story featured in the Daily Mail.

The law has been lauded by prominent health groups including the American Lung Association and the March of Dimes, which are backing San Rafael Assembly member Marc Levine’s measure for a similar statewide ban.

“It is imperative that California enact a multi-unit housing smoking ban to protect all California families from deadly secondhand smoke in the places they should feel safest – their own homes,” ALA-California President Jane Warner said in a prepared statement.

“This groundbreaking legislation will improve the health of all Californians by reducing exposure to smoke that drifts into housing units from balconies, patios, and other units.”

But not everybody likes it.

San Rafael is getting slammed in columns, comment sections and message boards for what critics say is government overreach.

A headline in The Stir reads: Nanny State Alert: Town Bans Smoking Inside Private Homes.

conservative Southern California columnist says in the Santa Clarita Valley Signal that “in the nutty, NorCal, leftist community of San Rafael, city officials passed a ban on smoking in buildings that share a common wall with another unit.

“Will the government reward children for turning in their smoking parents? Will smokers need to cover their windows to hide their habit from the authorities?”

What do you think of all the attention San Rafael is getting for its tough smoking law? Share your thoughts in our comments section.


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