Are my neighbors... cooking??

Dear drug addicts of the board: Hoping you can help me out here. I've been home sick the last 48 hours with a nasty infection. Hadn't left my apartment since Wednesday. This afternoon, I headed out to get some fresh air. As soon as I left my apartment I was assaulted by a strong, strange smell in the hallway. It's hard to describe, but I'd say the most prominent "note" is that of burning plastic. There's also some kind of musty/grimy/sulfuric element to it, but it's not the dominant part of the smell. I think I'm also picking up on the slightest bit of sweetness. In the afternoon it was so strong that I was startled by it. It's definitely on my floor and I'm quite certain it's in my wing of the floor. There are 5 other apartments in this wing. I ran some errands and when I got back in the early evening the smell was still quite strong though now instead of being spread through the whole floor it seemed more localized to just my wing of the floor. The first time I smelled it was around 2pm and now at about 10pm it's roughly 50% of its original strength. Has anyone been through this before? Worth reporting? My landlord's out of town and all the apartments are individually owned. Would it be ridiculous to call LAPD?

Call it in from a pay phone as a gas leak.

So you wanna call the cops for your lobby smelling?

Black mail and cash in then move out..

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Originally Posted by getbetter

So you wanna call the cops for your lobby smelling?

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he means meth

I would call... but then again i watch too much Breaking bad

Are there really people out there dumb enough to cook meth in an apartment building?

I doubt it. If the smell persists I would just contact the building manager.

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Originally Posted by heart cooks brain

Are there really people out there dumb enough to cook meth in an apartment building?

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why yes they are.

http://chicagoist.com/2012/06/08/mis...or_cooking.php

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What was thought to be a routine shoplifting arrest in a St. Louis area Walmart Thursday night became much more when the woman suspected of shoplifting was found to be in possession of what is being called a "mobile meth lab."
In fairness, to call what the woman had a "mobile meth lab" is a stretch; she was allegedly cooking lab in a plastic soda bottle that was in her purse, which isn't exactly the controlled environment expected when the word "lab" is used. Police officers said what was inside the bottle was bubbling, which led them to evacuate the Walmart. The woman and a male suspect were detained for shoplifting items unrelated to their ad hoc chemistry experiment, and a search of their car supposedly turned up meth making materials.
The video below from KMOV-TV in St. Louis is below and won't change any perceptions some readers may have of people who cook meth, people who shop at Walmart, or the Midwest.

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http://youtu.be/rXMUTuH41DE

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Originally Posted by heart cooks brain

Are there really people out there dumb enough to cook meth in an apartment building?

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Yes.

Maybe they're just smoking it?

So uhh... if anyone's wondering what it smells like when your neighbor inadvertently leaves ox tail cooking on the stove for over 5 hours as the cookware slowly melts, it smells like meth.

You're making me hungry.

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Originally Posted by RageAgainstTheAoki

So uhh... if anyone's wondering what it smells like when your neighbor inadvertently leaves ox tail cooking on the stove for over 5 hours as the cookware slowly melts, it smells like meth.

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How did you find that out? Were you exploring the possible criminal activity on your own? Dangerous. Or did you report them and it backfired? Also possibly dangerous, but perhaps you saved their lives and the lives of your neighbors by averting a plastics flamed fire! Hero.

Explain.

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Originally Posted by heart cooks brain

Are there really people out there dumb enough to cook meth in an apartment building?

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I once lived in a town where the trend was to have them in the trunk of a functioning car

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Originally Posted by MusicIsMyBoyfriend

How did you find that out? Were you exploring the possible criminal activity on your own? Dangerous. Or did you report them and it backfired? Also possibly dangerous, but perhaps you saved their lives and the lives of your neighbors by averting a plastics flamed fire! Hero.
Explain.

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Night of, I called my landlord about it and told him I was planning on calling the property management company in the morning to report it, but to let me know if he wanted me to do something else. Next day he asked me to hold off while he spoke to the condo board. One of the members of the board told him that other tenants had complained so they'd gone to the apartment from which the smell appeared to be coming from and the resident explained the situation. Apparently they verified it. Whatever that means. Good enough for me. Unless I smell it again.

If I ever cook meth I will be sure to keep an overcooked oxtail and piece of melted cookware on hand in case one of my neighbors snitches.