What can I do about a suspicion of apartment neighbor's drug use?

[PAPP]

What is the name of your state? - California.

I hope it is a right forum for me to ask a question. I am suspecting that someone uses an illegal drug called DMT in my apartment. I'm wondering what I can do.

Here is my situation.
We live in an apartment complex. I have smelled unidentified smell seeped into our unit. I checked the entire apartment and found that a particular hallway had a very strong unidentified smell. I could tell it is not food smell, but I can't figure out what it is actually. It smells like Ligroin, a kind of petroleum based product, to me. Then I smelled mothballs smell in our unit a few times in the midnight. The smell came from the same hallway where I have smelled unidentified smell. Very strong mothballs smell was filled with the hallway. I googled about it and found it might be DMT.

I talked to my local police department. They didn't know what DMT was. It's a minor drug, so it doesn't surprise me if they have never heard of it. However, a city next to us had a raid to a DMT labs several years ago. I contacted them to get information about it. Even though they know DMT, a police officer that I talked to, had just generic information about it.

When I talked to my local police officers, they said they couldn't do anything just from smell. However, it is very unusual the mothballs smell is seeping from other people's apartment units. Just having a box full of mothballs in an apartment unit doesn't make the hallway filled with the smell. It must be smoked or burned, which is quite odd thing to do if it is the mothball.

I'm wondering where else I can contact about this besides the police. Thank you.

 

[HRZ]

A distinct odd smell is likely sufficient cause for police to investigate further ....but police in CA may have many drugs on low enforcement priority ...and I'm NOT blaming your local police

Try a bit harder to fire up thier investigative interest ?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? - California.

I hope it is a right forum for me to ask a question. I am suspecting that someone uses an illegal drug called DMT in my apartment. I'm wondering what I can do.

Here is my situation.
We live in an apartment complex. I have smelled unidentified smell seeped into our unit. I checked the entire apartment and found that a particular hallway had a very strong unidentified smell. I could tell it is not food smell, but I can't figure out what it is actually. It smells like Ligroin, a kind of petroleum based product, to me. Then I smelled mothballs smell in our unit a few times in the midnight. The smell came from the same hallway where I have smelled unidentified smell. Very strong mothballs smell was filled with the hallway. I googled about it and found it might be DMT.

I talked to my local police department. They didn't know what DMT was. It's a minor drug, so it doesn't surprise me if they have never heard of it. However, a city next to us had a raid to a DMT labs several years ago. I contacted them to get information about it. Even though they know DMT, a police officer that I talked to, had just generic information about it.

When I talked to my local police officers, they said they couldn't do anything just from smell. However, it is very unusual the mothballs smell is seeping from other people's apartment units. Just having a box full of mothballs in an apartment unit doesn't make the hallway filled with the smell. It must be smoked or burned, which is quite odd thing to do if it is the mothball.

I'm wondering where else I can contact about this besides the police. Thank you.

You can tell your landlord that a smell from one of the apartments in the apartment building is permeating the hallways and other units.

The landlord can give notice to residents that the apartments will be inspected on X day. The landlord can then enter the apartments to check on the source of the smell.

I would be very careful about accusing any tenant of using illegal drugs. Say there is a noxious smell. Leave it at that.

 

[HRZ]

An odd smell might be sufficient for a LL to enter wo much notice at all to check for emergency issues. ...read the lease....one LL ( not me). i know who did found decomposing tenant in tub. Who knows . I've entered to check for constant running water / leaks downstairs etc. left a clear written note of why and when.

 

[quincy]

This does not sound like an emergency situation.

 

[PAPP]

Thank you for your reply, HRZ and quincy.
Our big problem is our apartment manager is not helpful about the issue at all. We reported it to him and talked about it with him many times, but he has done nothing about it. We even contacted to our apartment manager's boss and the CEO of the management company, but nothing.

When I contacted the police, I explained a situation too much. I mean I should have focused on illegal drug, but I talked about other smoke issues in the apartment. So the conversation just fell to talk to the apartment manager.

Our city just initiated multi family dwellings no smoking ban since January. Even though there is the ordinance, there is no enforcement at this moment because of the budget. So, we can't use the ordinance to do something to this matter. Sigh....

 

[quincy]

I am afraid your options are limited then.

If you have a place in the building for posting notes, you could post a notice to the residents that a smell from one of the apartments is permeating the halls and apartments in the building, it is making you ill, and both the landlord and the police have been notified.

That might work.

 

[xylene]

Unless the op has some high level training or expertise in drug identification, I think the op's inference this is DMT or drugs at all veers into the ridiculous.

 

[quincy]

I definitely advise PAPP against mentioning drugs.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I have smelled unidentified smell seeped into our unit.

If it is unidentified how do you know what it is?

 

[PAPP]

Thank you for your reply, quincy and xylene. I understand I shouldn't mention about DMT casually. I am definitely not trained to identify the illegal drugs, so I tried to find a drug detecting dog service in our area, but it seems not available. I really don't mean to accuse our fellow residents wrongly. However, both the unidentified smell and the mothballs kind of smell are quite strong and drifting widely. I am very concerned what we are inhaling in the apartment.

It seems my only option is work with the apartment management. I mentioned about DMT to the apartment manager, but not to the apartment management company. I just said some residents smoke in the units to the management company. I hope they will send a no smoking reminder to the residents.

 

[PAPP]

Thank you for your reply, PayrollHRGuy.
I actually don't know what I smell in there. One of them is mothballs kind of smell. The other is kind of mixed smell of a straw mat and ligroin. All I could tell is they are not food smell. A reason I mentioned about DMT is when I googled about a substance smell like mothballs, many results indicated DMT.

 

[quincy]

Thank you for your reply, PayrollHRGuy.
I actually don't know what I smell in there. One of them is mothballs kind of smell. The other is kind of mixed smell of a straw mat and ligroin. All I could tell is they are not food smell. A reason I mentioned about DMT is when I googled about a substance smell like mothballs, many results indicated DMT.

You could contact the health department to see if the smell is toxic.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

There are tons of things that smell like mothballs. The fact that you would go to what is an exoctic drug says way more about yu than it does your neighbor.

 

[Just Blue]

Thank you for your reply, HRZ and quincy.
Our big problem is our apartment manager is not helpful about the issue at all. We reported it to him and talked about it with him many times, but he has done nothing about it. We even contacted to our apartment manager's boss and the CEO of the management company, but nothing.

When I contacted the police, I explained a situation too much. I mean I should have focused on illegal drug, but I talked about other smoke issues in the apartment. So the conversation just fell to talk to the apartment manager.

Our city just initiated multi family dwellings no smoking ban since January. Even though there is the ordinance, there is no enforcement at this moment because of the budget. So, we can't use the ordinance to do something to this matter. Sigh....

You have no idea if this smell is caused by a drug...legal or illegal.