The fix

May 30th, 2023

I don’t get it. At all and on many levels. Today on two separate occasions while talking to two different people in the office I smelled a definite aroma of pot from them. It is such a characteristic smell, that even after thirty years since I last smoke it myself, I still easily can recognize it. It happened for the first time that I can recall in seven years of working here. In both cases, the people I talked to are under a lot of visible stress and under heavy pressure so to a limited extent I can understand their need to look for something to take the edge off, but…

They were at work, and yet they are using an illegal substance and a substance leaving a trace of smell after using it. And it might have been just a coincidence that I walked to them right after they came back to their desks from outside, but they were not really hiding. Maybe they don’t know that other people can smell it. Maybe they don’t realize that even though they are used to the smell, others will easily notice it. And those others might not be like me and react in a way so they yet will suffer real pressure and stress because of it.

And the other issue here — that quick fix doesn’t help in any way and doesn’t solve anything. Momentary calmness and taking the edge off for a short while will not fix the underlying reasons for pressure and stress. In reality, it will only cause a LOT more problems down the line and it is so obvious that it is hard for me to understand the overwhelming need to risk a job and reputation and possibly a legal standing in society. That unhealthy and risky behavior is on an addiction level of dependence already.

And I should know it. I was the same for years, decades even. So, I withhold my judgment, but I cannot help feeling sadness and pity in those circumstances.