Phoenix city inspectors looking into “skunk” smell on I-10

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - The City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department is in the process of inspecting two marijuana facilities near Interstate 10 and 24th Street after the city received complaints about a “skunk” smell on the freeway. “I don’t like the smell,” said Freddy Vargas, who works in the area. Vargas says the smell is a regular topic of conversation among coworkers and others in the industrial park, located southwest of Sky Harbor. “It smells like skunk weed,” said Vargas.

One of the marijuana businesses sells cannabis products. It is called JARS Cannabis. JARS did not respond to a request for comment. The other facility is a grow house, where marijuana plants are grown in a warehouse. The address is not a public record under Arizona’s marijuana law.

Marijuana plants give off a pungent odor as a result of compounds called terpenes, which are created naturally by the plants. “There’s a lot of odors that are produced during the growing process itself,” said Dana Pack, vice president of sales for Fogco. Fogco is a Chandler-based company known mainly for its cooling systems. But Fogco also sells odor-control products used in wastewater treatment, solid waste, and the marijuana business.

“We actually have a proprietary product that we actually treat the cannabis odors with,” said Pack. He says marijuana businesses are generally required to have an odor control plan in place. He says Fogco’s product reduces the odor by 98 percent. Pack says Fogco is in talks with the Marijuana businesses near I-10 and 24th Street.

A spokesperson for the City of Phoenix told Arizona’s Family the marijuana businesses at issue are required to have odor control systems in place. According to figures from the Arizona Department of Transportation, 250,000 vehicles pass by that location every day.

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