Questions as pot comes to work

https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-it-ever-ok-to-get-stoned-with-a-client-and-other-questions-as-pot-comes-to-work-11632907802

by bookofjoe • 5 years ago

14 45 5 years ago

wsj.com

bookofjoe• 5 years ago

https://archive.ph/KK7fS

jaqalopes• 5 years ago

This is some of the dumbest clickbait yet, and even more annoying is that I clicked on it.

Is it ever okay to get high with a client? Duh of course it is. In the same way it is sometimes okay to drink with a client. Or share a meal with a client. Or go skydiving with a client. Context is everything. Why can't we just let people be people and not be so uptight about made-up rules?

trangus_1985• 5 years ago

I made a coworker really uncomfortable by offering to smoke him out after work when he was visiting our site. But there really wasn't any recourse - he was conservative visiting from a conservative area (where it was "understood" that pot is a hard drug). I'm from the Bay Area: I'd been smoking weed since I was 16.

I've always been cognizant of differing understandings around the drug, but I definitely think it still takes some discretion.

By the way, the key difference between a drink at lunch and some pot is that im pretty useful around 2p with a drink - stoned, I might as well go home for the day. (Of course, everyone's different).

So, I think this discussion is worth having in a respectful manner - it's new rules.

dvdhnt3• 5 years ago

By the way, the key difference between a drink at lunch and some pot is that im pretty useful around 2p with a drink - stoned, I might as well go home for the day. (Of course, everyone's different).

The actual key difference is the person, then, right? Because plenty of people I have encountered get tipsy or lose focus after one drink. And there are acquaintances that can smoke a bowl and still function well enough to perform their job.

Similarly, I can take a gummy and still work. A couple drinks and I'm useless.

asxd3• 5 years ago

Agreed. My ability to socially interact and be productive is pretty heavily affected when smoking, much more so than when drinking (heck, the right amount of booze might even improve those qualities a bit). Like you said, everyone is different, but I personally wouldn't consider getting high in a professional setting.

mabub24• 5 years ago

Also, a lot of people might not have any experience with pot, so they don't know what (if any) effect it will have on them. Unlike alcohol. People usually don't want to experience novelties when there is business or a potential deal on the line.

pessimizer2• 5 years ago

Because "politics" has been redefined into the intense prescriptive study of politeness and protocols into which people can be plugged like a USB device.

Legality has changed around pot, so new politics have to be given to people to create a new consensus.

willcipriano• 5 years ago

I never would smoke pot at work. Not for any moral reason, I just feel that doing drugs* at work is as lame as doing them with your parents.

*I consider alcohol a drug.

sevencolors• 5 years ago

Medical use of any drug is not "lame" when it's helping someone. I think the phrase you're looking for is "getting inebriated at work for fun is lame".

pessimizer2• 5 years ago

It's "lame" if it makes you feel like garbage at work. Responsibility is annoying when you're stoned, and it doesn't get less annoying if the pot cures your epilepsy.

codr7• 5 years ago

For some it's simply a coping mechanism, to survive the boredom of normal; for others it's medication to deal with chronic pain.

It's not that different from alcohol really, though definitely more healthy and less socially destructive.

But we have a messed up relationship with all drugs, it's all mixed up with religious bullshit and shame.

dvdhnt3• 5 years ago

The questions have already been answered, yeah?

Medical marijuana should be treated like any other medication.

Recreational marijuana should be treated just like any other legal drug aka alcohol or sugar that employees consume.

If you can't do those things and perform your job safely and effectively, then disallow it. Contextually, some cultures (even by region in the US) respond differently to having a drink at lunch. Your business probably knows which clients will respond negatively and which will not be phased. The same logic applies with weed.

joeberon9• 5 years ago

just like any other legal drug aka alcohol or sugar that employees consume.

Sugar is not considered a "legal drug" in western society, basically neither is caffeine...as for alcohol, kein Bier vor vier

jdavis7033• 5 years ago

basically neither is caffeine

Then why does the FDA ban buying bulk caffeine [0]?

It seems like folks are also campaigning to ban kratom.

Basically even substances previously considered legal are under threat of being illegal. Remember even amphetamines used to be trivial to acquire.

0: https://www.newsweek.com/fda-bans-pure-bulk-caffeine-product...

dvdhnt3• 5 years ago

Ah, fair. I stated an opinion as a matter of fact. My perspective came from the concept of a sugar crash. Which, to be fair, similar effects can happen when you eat too many simple sugars.

Your response made me wonder if sugar is considered a "legal drug" anywhere in the world. A Google search came back as negative or at least inconclusive.

The topic is the subject of scientific study [1] - "intermittent access to sugar can lead to behavior and neurochemical changes that resemble the effects of a substance of abuse".

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

jollybean• 5 years ago

We are cultural creatures, not legal creatures.

That something is 'lawful or not' is only part of the context in which we evaluate what is appropriate or not in social culture.

The 'can do your business effectively' not the issue, because it's obvious. Most people can do a glass of wine at lunch and that's that, some can't, but it's part of the meal time ritual and deeply embedded in our social culture. There's thousands of years behind that one. Weed, not so much. Even Hookah, where people sit around smoking a common pipe, doesn't do much to you.

jjcm• 5 years ago

As pot comes to work? Drugs have always been a part of workplace culture, the only difference is now it's legal. Just because cocaine, mdma, and LSD are illegal doesn't mean they aren't part of work culture. Many, many companies take the stance of "do what you need to do to bond with your clients, we'll look the other way as long as it doesn't create an issue".

tomjen3• 5 years ago

At least in Europe alcohol used to be a huge part of work culture, and smoking inside while working was common up until about 30 years ago.

Drugs in the work place aren't new. No company that I know of has a coffein limit though, even thought it is also a drug.

jareklupinski• 5 years ago

"Drugs on Parade!" didn't send the right message in A/B testing :P

mbg721• 5 years ago

Except it's not legal. It's still a federal Schedule I drug, so if you or your clients are involved in a heavily regulated industry, your company is taking its life in its hands, no matter how much it looks like everyone is willing to look the other way for now. Why do people forget this??

cpeterso• 5 years ago

Many companies provide alcohol at company parties or Friday "wind downs". Who will be the first to provide marijuana as a standard option?

anotheraccount9• 5 years ago

Is it ok to be drunk at work? No, but a bit of alcohol would be acceptable in most cases. I guess if something is comparable, it would be ok?

KingMachiavelli• 5 years ago

Companies in the pot industry are obviously going to be outliers. Its also already well known that cannabis and other drugs are highly prevalent in the food service industry.

As far as during work, the few places that could allow/tolerate use are the ones that don't care enough to have a policy anyway.

At work social events I can see attitudes shifting in some circles such that it might be acceptable to consume although there are some practicalities that make it difficult since there are rules about smoking/vaping indoors.

Additionally just as sharing beverages is uncommon at a work-social event, sharing a cannabis product like you would with close/casual friends is going to be a barrier. Everyone smoking their own joint/pipe is also less probable because the level of intoxication is quite high per joint/bowl/etc.

Other cannabis products such as edibles may be a possibility but there long duration and onset also makes them less practical plus you have to consider that eating an edible is such a non-event that it is hardly comparable to having a beer with coworkers over a long meal and/or discussion.

The extent I see cannabis being accepted at most work social functions is a BYO policy at outdoor/mixed settings.

However, I could see cannabis becoming more accepted at work (social)retreats which are typically outside, last at least a day or longer, and focus more on bonding and relaxing.

Questions as pot comes to work

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