My Take: Weed Smells!

Smokers of Marijuana Check your Hygiene

I was in CVS when a young woman walked by me. The scent of weed hit me like a punch to the face. It filled my nose and went straight into my lungs. I immediately felt a headache coming on and my stomach because nauseous.

In my state, laws for possessing marijuana have been rolled back, allowing the opening of dispensaries in many neighbors across my city. While on the one hand, a new economy rises from the legal sale of Mary Jane, on the other hand, having weed more available to the general public has its issues.

For one, people stink and they don’t seem to care. I can understand if you’re in your home away from the public. But when you go outside and travel about smelling like weed is not a good look. I don’t know if the young woman who passed by me even knew she smelled like a blunt. Did she even care?

The freedom to smoke weed without fear of police involvement has made people lose a bit of their common sense. As an educator, I’ve experienced parents coming to my school reeking of pot. The scent lingered in the classroom long after the meeting had ended. Unfortunately, parents aren’t the only ones who come to school smelling like a dispensary.

Many students during the transition to class leave a stench in the hallways. When I go to another classroom on another floor, the entire classroom reeks of weed. I’ve had students come to my class smelling like weed and acting very loopy with half-closed eyes, slouchy posture, and laughing at everything. Again, it’s not a good look.

While students are reported to the school nurse if they smell like weed, it doesn't deter the student from smoking the stuff. Some students bring in perfume and body spray to try and hide the scent. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Students vape in the bathrooms and forget to spray themselves. They return to class and it’s obvious what they’ve been doing.

Weed culture has become mainstream. Rappers toke up onstage in front of thousands of fans. Many of their fans follow suit, lighting up at the concert, in the bathrooms, and after the event. They go home and smoke in front of their children who also smoke, believing it’s an acceptable practice. These kids then come to school where it’s not acceptable.

I don’t care if someone smokes weed — that’s their choice. It just bothers me that people come out in public and stank so badly. Why should everyone else know that you smoke pot? It should be a private matter. But many people feel that since weed is more acceptable, smelling like weed is acceptable as well. No, it isn’t!

Please check yourself before you leave your home. No one wants to smell your weed!