Who hasn’t at least once tried to smoke weed at work? Me and my friends do it pretty often. For me, it just helps to focus on things that really matter, letting go the fear of not being successful. Being high at work makes me relaxed and flexible at the same time.

Of course, it depends on the Marijuana strain too. But I bet more on my character and preferences.

I decided to talk with some of my friends about their feelings and experiences on going to work high, smoking with colleagues, their fears, and munchies. To get in the mood, of course, we shared a smoke.
(To protect the identities of my friends, their names have been changed.)

Mauro, 23, debt collector

How often do you go to work high?

If I can – everyday.

When you go to work high, how do you feel at work?

Like it makes a difference, but not so much of a difference. It makes it easier, I guess cos time goes faster, you focus just on one thing, doing and doing, and doing it again cos my job is kinda repetitive. So it gets you through it, weed.

How do you manage your work responsibilities when you’re high?

Well, it’s easier. Like not easier, but it’s just like I have weed and I smoke all day long at work, like every time that I can, I’m gonna be eating more, so I’m gonna be happy, so it’s gonna be easier for me to work. Mostly, cos I do a lot of customer service, and though I am a debt collector, I still have to be nice to them. They’re not going to pay, right?

So, do you manage to be nicer?

Kinda. Not nicer, more sociable because if not – I’m like a robot, like I just do what I have to do, what is mandatory for me to do, and try to collect the money, and if not – that’s alright. But when I’m high, it’s easier for me to be social, I’m just talkin’, talkin’, talkin’. Just like now.

Does your co-workers know?

Yeah. Even like my boss and everything.

And what was their attitude towards it?

Well, they don’t like it. Well, my boss doesn’t like it, but my co-workers, they smoke with me.

So, do you smoke together at work?

Most of the days, yeah.

Wow. And how do you manage to hide it from others?

It’s not that hard to do. There’s a lot of places to smoke at. Plus is that everybody knows, and I’m number two in my team in collecting money, and I’m the only one from my training who has never failed like in the quality thing where they check every step that you do, they can’t tell me a shit, well, they can, but – they don’t because they know that I’m doing my part, get into work on time, doing my responsibilities, doing actually good cause I’m actually been there for six months, like I’m on the top collector thing. They’re OK with it. They don’t like it, they still tell it, they’re still honest about it cause I’m honest with them. And I try not to do it at work, but even if I do it, it still doesn’t affect my performances. It improves it sometimes, I guess.

And what is your greatest fear when you’re high at work?

That they could fire me, I guess. [Laughs.]

How do you deal with munchies at work?

Oh, that’s an issue. Damn, well, that’s an issue everywhere cause I have issues with food – I spend all day long just eating, even if I’m not high. But when I’m high that’s also an issue cause at work we have this thing where you just swipe your badge so you don’t have to ever give money to them, where you get the food and everything, so I spend a lot of money, and as a consequence when I get paid it’s a lot of money off my wage… It’s a lot. More than weed.

Oh, my gosh… And what are your suggestions for people who want to go to work high?

If you can – do it. If not – don’t try it cause you spend a lot of money – in weed, in food, and risking your job. So, if people don’t see it right, I guess you should avoid it. That’s a common sense!

Raven, 37, project office specialist

How often do you go to work high?

Every day.

Wow, every day. And how do you feel when you’re high at work?

Um, I feel really relaxed. I always smoke in the morning when I go out of the house, at the point where I feel relaxed, when I reach the level of comfort, where I can be myself and really relaxed.

How do you manage your work responsibilities?

I would say that I manage them better because it helps me to become really, really concentrated. I feel that my concentration improves. I have heard people saying that, well, smoking weed will make you dumb, will make you slow, but actually after so many years of doing this I think that’s not true.

Do your colleagues know?

Some of them. Well, actually, I would like to say that smoking at work is just like smoking on the street – you just have to be careful, not everybody understands it, and not everybody agrees with that, so I have to be careful. Some people talk about that in the hallways, sometimes it’s something people will say in a chit-chat, in a brief conversation, but I have seen those girls who sometimes like to go out of the building and smoke, and people start talking about that, and later, I have heard, they haven’t gotten or they don’t get job positions that they want.

In that kind of a situation one can also be blackmailed…

I would say that some managers know and they don’t care… But I just want to say that you have to be careful on the streets and specific places at your job, if you want to get a certain position at your job, you have to be strategic.

Do you smoke together with your colleagues?

Off work – yes.

At work?

No. Never. If we want to smoke during our shift, we go out, take a car, and go for a ride, and come back.

What are you afraid of when you’re high at work?

Maybe I have felt that… Sometimes you get your eyes irritated and they’re reddish, so I have been afraid that people might notice that. So, I always have my eye drops.

And how do you deal with munchies at work?

Well, you have like a routine. I prefer not to have breakfast at home, and I know that when I will get to work, I will eat something for breakfast there. Also the high lasts longer that way, and I also I don’t smoke a lot because I know that after a certain time I’m going to eat a lot, and I just want the high not to be that heavy.

And what are your suggestions for other people who want to go to work high?

You have to be careful about how much you smoke, especially, at the beginning, because there might be some panic attacks that you don’t expect, so I would say that you should smoke small amounts, so you understand how your body reacts in different situations and so you will be able to handle yourself better. But if you go crazy and you go and get stoned like you can barely talk, and you go to work like that, and then you have a panic attack – everybody will notice that something is wrong with you, everybody. Probably. I don’t suggest that because you can ruin your status at work just because you want to smoke some weed. That’s not smart. Just do it for fun. And I’m telling this to you from my experience. I have gotten very high and gone to work, and I didn’t function very well. [Laughs.]

Sugar, 33, supervisor

How often do you go to work high?

Every day.

When you’re going to work high, how do you feel?

Happy. Relaxed.

And how do you manage your work responsibilities?

It depends. Because, even though I smoke every day, I don’t smoke the same amounts every day, for example, every Friday I have a very important meeting, so I would smoke a little bit, but I wouldn’t get that high as I would get on Mondays. So I would say that I can manage my work responsibilities, because I don’t do anything that might harm you.

Do your colleagues know about you coming to work high?

Well, yeah. Maybe. I believe that as soon as I’m high, but I don’t go to them at work and I don’t tell them that I was smoking.

What is their attitude towards the fact that you smoke weed?

People who know that I smoke weed, well, maybe they’ll smoke the same as I do, so they won’t be angry or talking behind my back. There are just like – whatever, smoke. However, I believe that there are still a lot of people at my work that have that rude attitude about it.

What are you afraid of when you’re high at work?

Of people noticing that I’m high. That is the first thing that crosses my mind. I’m not afraid of writing an email or talking to someone. Maybe I’m afraid of forgetting something like immediately because that is something that happens, but I’m not afraid of anything else.

How do you deal with munchies at work?

Oh, that is hard because I remember at the beginning that was really crazy, I smoked at home and when I reached work I used to go to cafeteria and I would eat a lot of food – pancakes, cheese sticks, rice and beans, drink orange juice. I used to eat all of that. And after that I would be like – it would be awesome to eat some pastries too, and I would go for them. So, now I can control it.

And what are your suggestions for people who want to go to work high?

When I’m high, I would say – just enjoy it. When I’m not high, I would say – be careful.