Why does my bedroom smell of weed?

[Kreacheriscleaning]

My bedroom is in the attic and for the last month or so it has absolutely stunk of weed.
None of the other rooms in the house smell and there is no one in our house that would be smoking it. It doesn't seem to smell outside.
I did wonder about an illegal grow but we are in an end of terrace house and next door is currently empty. It has just sold but no one has been in or out in weeks so I don't think that it's likely.

I am considering calling the non emergency police number to ask them what we can do about it but wanted to check whether anyone knew of anything else that could be causing such a strong smell.
I am a bit worried that our baby is due in November and don't really want it in a room that smells so bad. Even more worried that midwives or HV may want to see (and smell) where baby will be sleeping.

I don’t think just the smell of weed is going to cause your baby any harm, but agree the midwife/HV might raise an eyebrow if they catch a whiff.

I don’t think the police are going to do anything much, unless it was a literal stench that could be localised to one particular house or something. Have you had any new bits of furniture or flooring/carpet put in that room recently? It could be a strange smelling adhesive or wood or something.

No, I don't imagine that it will do any harm but it's not a nice smell at all and is very strong.
No new furniture, flooring etc
It"a just that one room. Dh works away and thought that it was in my head when I mentioned it on the phone. He's just got home and immediately said that it smells.

It's making life very unpleasant.

The only thing I've ever had that replicated that smell was a pair of wellies. They were made with some hemp ingredient or other.

Not that likely in an attic bedroom though.

"I don’t think the police are going to do anything much, unless it was a literal stench that could be localised to one particular house or something."

My whole area smells of weed. I'm pretty sure the police don't care!
My flat smells of quite often. I think some of the smell is coming up through the toilet. That wouldn't be the case for an attic though.

@MooneyBadger

The only thing I've ever had that replicated that smell was a pair of wellies. They were made with some hemp ingredient or other.

Not that likely in an attic bedroom though.

Ah yes, is it actually a weed smell or just some kind of musty smell?

Was just coming on to say about wellies. I bought DC a pair of wellies and honestly for days they stank of the strongest weed.

I'm guessing one of your neighbours has an illegal grow. The separation between attics (depending on house type I suppose) is really poor. It doesn't seem necessarily mean they are directly next door. Could be further along the terrace.

This happened to a friend of mine. Her sons bedroom in attic stank of weed and next door was empty and had been for a while.
It was indeed a cannabis factory . She reported the smell and it was rumbled so I wouldn't write it off.

Any chance could be your neighbours with cannabis or cannabis farm next door ? I would call 101 and they may send someone out to check

We had this. It was when the sun was shining. I don't know if it was some fibres in the carpet that stank when heated (which was later removed and the smell did go, but couldn't say it went precisely when we got rid) or slightly dodgy next-door had some plants growing...

Is it the growing smell, or the smoking smell ?

If growing then very few plants give off that smell - someone near you will be growing without a carbon filter. It tends to be a light smell, so rises rather than falls which may explain it being more prevalent in the attic.

Is it there 24/7, or on odd occasions ?

Personally I wouldn't discount an empty house as a possible grow.

If you have nothing to hide, then by all means, call the police. They get ever so excited if they can have a shot at a "police swooped" headline - they can have a sweepstakes on whose face gets in the picture.

If there's one thing I can't stand it's lazy anti social growers. It's just so not necessary.

Haha. I don't have a collection of wellies (or any other rubber based objects ) in my room.

I suppose that it could be further down the terrace but all of the houses have properly done attics so I would have thought that they would be quite well sealed. They are old mill terraces so thick walled.

I actually would be more inclined to report it if next door is empty, in case there is some kind of modern slavery situation going on with a growing farm. Hopefully not, but not seeing anybody going in and out for weeks doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no one in there 🙁

After my tenant who was a hoarder left I thought my house stunk of weed. Turned out to be roaches 😷

If you're sure no one is smoking it nearby, then it's more than possible it's growing next door. Our old neighbours smoked it and if I didn't know any better I'd have sworn my then 18 month old was regularly doing it. Another neighbour accidentally knocked through into next doors attic and found it growing up there (the accident in the attic was nothing to do with the smell, they'd assumed a neighbour was smoking it too and were quite surprised).

@TheUser420 I don't know whether it's a growing or smoking smell. How would I tell?
Its not absolutely constant but there more often than not.

@tinierclanger I suppose not. I can see into both the kitchen and living room and they are completely empty but I supposee that there's a slim possibility that someone is upstairs.

@Hangingover

There was a smell of it being smoked outside on and off a while ago but no other room in the house smells and it doesn't smell outside now.

Are you sure it's weed?

Cannabis needs quite a lot of light to grow indoors. It's not like a house plant, happy in quite dark conditions. Would you be able to see if lights were on in the house, specifically in the attic?

I couldn't tell if they were on in the attic from inside our house but will go out tonight and see if I can see from the road behind.
I can't be sure that it is weed but it certainly smells like it. I posted here to check whether there was anything else that it could be but none of the other options so far fit.

@shieldedsally

Are you sure it's weed?

Cannabis needs quite a lot of light to grow indoors. It's not like a house plant, happy in quite dark conditions. Would you be able to see if lights were on in the house, specifically in the attic?

If light can leak out, then it can leak in, and cannabis needs pretty much pitch black darkness to enter the flowering phase. And cannabis is all about the flowering phase (it's the unfertilised female plants that provides the psychoactive compounds ...).

But then someone who is amateur enough to grow without a filter is probably not going to worry overly about light leaks either.

(If a plant does get light when it should be dark it can mess up the sex determination, and you get useless hermaphrodites ...)

Definitely do some sleuthing and report back !

I supposed the good thing is that if it is sold, and it is a weed farm, the problem will presumably vanish very shortly as new owners move in!

It does need light and water, though, so I would have thought you'd have seen/heard people going in and out to tend to it, tbh.

Other things that can potentially smell musty - damp, insects, rats, dead stuff under floorboards (Sorry to be gross).

It's possibly bats as their droppings smell a lot like weed.

@TheUser420 I don't know whether it's a growing or smoking smell. How would I tell? Its not absolutely constant but there more often than not.

Apart from juggling cats, there's nothing harder than trying to describe smells. Especially when they come bundled with other peoples value judgements.

The general smell of cannabis growing is clearly floral. Typically a sweeter, lighter smell. Maybe slightly cloying. But it is relatively strong (although no more so than honeysuckle, or muck spreading ...).

Smoked cannabis (depending on whether it's grass or hash) is closer to something like Patchouli oil.

But that's my interpretation - I have no doubt others will be along with more dramatic if not helpful examples.

You don't live near any overgrown waste ground do you ? You couldn't have a neighbour whose decided to have a go in their back garden ?

Yes just because next door is
Empty and you haven’t seen people coming and going doesn’t mean it’s not in use as a
Weed factory!!!!

Last thought (if not last gasp ), but sometimes very rarely, I've noted a faint "hint of weed" in freshly ground coffee. One day I'll do some digging and see what terpenes they share. Not freshly opened coffee. Freshly ground, as in proper bean-to-cup type setting.