Trouble With Neighbors - Advice Sought

So after almost 9 months of living neighbor-free, we now have neighbors.  Overall they seem to be OK...no loud music, no shouting, no slamming doors or anything like that.  But...there is one major issue...they like to smoke pot, every single day.  Personally, I don't really care what people do in the privacy of their own home as long as they are not causing any harm to me (or innocent children or something of that nature).  The problem is, the weather has been really nice since they moved in so we have all the windows open every day and the smell of it consumes our house.  They don't smoke outside but the smell from inside the house is so strong that it permeates the air when they open their windows or doors.  At this point in time, that just annoys the hell out of me...but we're having a baby in a few weeks and we're going to have loads of visitors (including the MWs and health visitors).  I really don't need them thinking we are smoking pot in our house and possibly reporting us for this (and yes, the smell is so strong that it does basically smell like someone is smoking inside our house).

I'm really torn about what to do here.  I don't know these people at all but apparently MIL "kind of" knows them because they are friends of one of DHs cousins.  Us confronting them would probably end bad because I'm an overly-hormonal 9 month pregnant woman and DH has a pretty bad temper.  If I was back in the US, I would just call the police and report it...but I'm wondering if that is too extreme.  MIL doesn't know them well enough to say anything and we don't really speak to the cousin that is their friend.

Any fairly peaceful suggestions? 

I'd phone the police and let them know whats going on...or the local authority if they're in a coucil house or the housing association or find out who their landlord/letting agent is and let them know as they're probably violating the terms & conditions of their lease.

They may not be aware of how strong the smell is since they smell it all the time.

Can you speak to them first and tell them that you are worried about your health and the health of your baby?

It doesn't have to be a "confrontation" - just a polite request for them to tone down the smoking a bit.

If there haven't been any other problems with them, I don't see the point of starting an antagonistic relationship with them by immediately calling the police or the local authority.

I agree with sweetpeach. Can you try and hold back your pregnancy hormones and just have a quick word with them? It may ultimately come to phoning the police, but I kind of think that's a drastic first step.

Ugh.. I feel your pain. We used to have neighbors who would have a big smoke-out on the occasional weekend. They would have friends in and out all day and night Saturday-Sunday, dropping stinky kebab fillings in our communal hallway which I always had to eventually clean up. The smoke used to overwhelm the bottom floor of our flat, and would just annoy the hell out of me.
However, it only happened a few times before they moved out, so we were never forced to bring up the issue.

We thought about the police route, but not sure if they would actually do anything.

You could try mentioning to them that a load of midwives/district nurses/health visitors will be visiting your place soon and you don't want to get them in trouble. Then if they don't take the hint, possibly one of the above medical persons would be compelled to step in for your and the baby's sake.

Mentioning that we will be having a lot of visitors (including medical professionals) coming around soon might help but how do you begin a conversation like that?  I've never even said hello to these people.  And if they have some kind of smartass response to whatever I say, that's not going to go down well.

It's difficult when you don't know someone because you don't know how they are going to react.  I find it difficult to believe that a group of people who sit around all day, every day are going to stop smoking pot due to anything I say to them...but that is just an assumption.  I also forgot to mention that their grandchild (around 1-2 years old) is often in the house with them...so they obviously don't care about the effects on that front.  Plus, if I say something to them and they don't stop...then it will be pretty obvious who called the police and I don't want to deal with retaliation from them.  And would the cops even do anything? 

I do know who their letting agency is so I might ring them and see if they can offer any help.

My main concern is the MW or health visitor thinking it's us.

Can you mention the problem to your MW? That way they'll know you're concerned about this and it's not you actually smoking, plus they may have some ideas on how to handle it.

CAB?

Sheesh, I wouldn't phone the police. BUT, I would definitely say something. I would waddle my cute pregnant self over there, put a playful smile on, and just casually mention that you will be having Health Visitors and all sorts over to your house in the coming weeks, and you wouldn't want them phoning the police or making a big deal of the smell wafting from their house. That should hopefully make them paranoid enough to tone down the smoking, just knowing that you can smell it. If they are stupid enough to keep puffing away to the extreme, then maybe phone the police. They wouldn't necessarily think it was you because you were nice enough to warn them, or even if they did, at least you were nice enough to warn them and they were the idiots who brought a possession charge on themselves. 

.  I find it difficult to believe that a group of people who sit around all day, every day are going to stop smoking pot due to anything I say to them...but that is just an assumption. 

They don't have to stop smoking pot.

They just have to make sure that the smoke doesn't bother you - that could mean going outside to smoke, turning on an extractor fan, etc.

When I tell people that their tobacco smoke bothers me, that doesn't mean that I expect them to quit smoking.

If there is a baby in the home, it should be reported to child protection. An infant being exposed to drugs can be devastating to his/her growth and development. Plus if all of the adults in the home are getting high, no one is going to be able to properly take care of the baby. Which puts the baby's safety at risk.

Mentioning that we will be having a lot of visitors (including medical professionals) coming around soon might help but how do you begin a conversation like that?  I've never even said hello to these people.  And if they have some kind of smartass response to whatever I say, that's not going to go down well.

I first met my neighbour around 4am one night when he was having a screaming match with his girlfriend and I had to tell them that they were keeping us up. The second time I saw him was when I knocked on his door at 3am because he was playing techno music too loudly - he answered the door drunk and trouserless (and later told us it was his birthday... sad). In the end, it turned out to be a lot more embarrassing for him than it was awkward for me, possibly because he's at least twice my age. Basically, approaching neighbours you've not met might not go as bad as you think, despite the stress of the entire situation.

I would recommend saying something to them in the most non-confrontational manner possible, just so that they are aware of your concern and possibly to make them aware that you know what they're doing. If they choose to ignore you, report it to someone - perhaps the council? And I'll second the advice of mentioning this to your MW and any other health visitors prior to them coming to your home, just so they're already aware that you're having issues with the neighbours' smoking.

It is quite disheartening to see a little baby walking out of a house that smells like that.  The bad thing is that the smell lingers on clothes and hair for a long time.  So that baby is walking around for hours (maybe all day?) smelling like pot.      

So with your advice, my plan is:  the next time I smell it, go introduce myself and let them know that since we are having a baby soon, we'll have lots of people coming and going.  Then let them know that at this moment in time the smell coming from their house is over-powering and seeping into our house...and I wouldn't want any of those visitors reporting them. 

Like you guys said, if they are stupid enough to continue it, they'll just have to deal with the consequences.  I mean really, they're lucky that I don't necessarily have a problem with people smoking pot in general, or I would call the cops just because of the fact that it is illegal.

I, personally, would not confront them at all. If it goes badly (and things like this never go well) you're going to end up contacting the appropriate authorities anyway and you've basically just painted an 'I did it' sign on yourself which can result in retaliation.

I would make an anonymous call to the police or to child protection.