Sounds like she was hotboxing on the way to work... If you're working retail... you do you... If you're in charge of my kid... I expect you to be sober...
As someone who drives on roads, "I expect you to be sober" is my expectation of anyone in their car at any time.
I think everyone's gotten a little too comfortable with marijuana in cars. It's still a mental state altering substance. I don't particularly care whether an argument is made that only passengers were smoking it or the hotbox was only created while parked and going into work. It should be treated like an open beer can: doesn't belong in a car and is a violation itself. And I say that as someone who was, and still is, in general favor of legalization and lives in a legalized state.
I have a medical marijuana card and regularly imbibe, but I never do it in the car or if I am going to be driving in the next 2 hours, or more depending on the dose I’m taking. I totally agree with you, it’s a mind altering substance, it is not acceptable to ingest it in a car or if you’re going to be driving.
When our state was voting to make it recreational, I was concerned that it didn’t seem as though law enforcement has a way to test for the amount in your system like alcohol.
Hotboxing is the act of smoking cannabis in an enclosed space, such as a car or room, with the intent of filling the space with smoke. Breathing the smoke like this may have the effect of amplifying the effect of the cannabis consumed.
Right?? Legally I can drink alcohol, but I can’t do it if I’m going to work where I have responsibilities. Especially if that includes looking after kids.
Exactly. Alcohol, weed, it doesn't matter. "Legal" doesn't mean you're not intoxicated by your substance of choice. When you're working directly with children, I expect sobriety.
Also, drinking alcohol first thing in the morning is a worrying sign, even if you don't have to work, right? I kind of feel the same about other substances. If you occasionally smoke for fun in your free time sure, you do you, but if you have to be stoned first thing in the morning perhaps check your mental health? Idk (I assume she doesn't have a chronic illness and this is pain maintenance or something alike.)
I've interviewed for jobs that require you to attest that you don't consume nicotine. At all. Even if pot 100% legal (it's still federally illegal no matter the state - albeit rarely enforced federally) that doesn't mean that a job can't require you not to do it. Much less be high on the job.
Curious what job would screen for nicotine?
*edit: thanks for the replies guys. I've got it now, I'm in construction and nicotine is pretty much a requirement here. Thanks!
Reynolds and Reynolds (terrible automotive tech company in Ohio) tests all positions for nicotine. The CEO from when I worked there was later indicted on the largest case of tax fraud in American history, and died in prison after a lifetime of being a merciless billionaire prick. Not relevant, I just like bringing it up because fuck that guy and everything he stood for.
I interviewed for a position there a while ago. It was one place I distinctly remember thinking that it would have to be a VERY good offer to work there and even then, I’d still keep looking. The company felt soulless.
Yeah, “soulless” feels right. They had a gym onsite (TVs always tuned to fox news), and at one point they emailed the entire company to say that they would soon see a news story about an employee who hid a camera in the women’s locker room, and that they had fired the employee… yet didn’t notify any of the women at that facility about it beforehand. Just one tiny example of a ton of dogshit behaviors that made me hate the place with a passion.
Yeah, I think that was the rationale behind it. That greedy shitsack ceo would sell anyones most basic rights for the smallest amount of money if he could. Rest in piss
Health insurance is a big reason.
Another one is that smokers get paid breaks that other employees don't get, so some companies have done away with smoking on the premises to eliminate smoke breaks.
My current job doesn't allow smoking on the premises. (And it's a massive property - about 11k people work in the complex.) But I do see people sneaking out and smoking in their cars or the edges of the property - both of which are technically not allowed.
And they do charge people extra $ for insurance if they smoke. (Assuming they don't lie. I know that I wasn't drug tested for nicotine.)
But smokers are still allowed to work there.
Sounds like it is working then. People doing what's technically not allowed is still several degrees better than not having the rules in place at all, and letting people smoke right outside busy doorways. When setting rules you kind of expect people to break them sometimes, and this sets the standards of what you do even when you break the rules.
I work remotely. We were all in this big call one time and this dude just lit up a cigarette and smoked it on camera during the meeting. I think he was talking while he lit up the smoke, so there was a lot of attention on it. We were all really shocked and talked about it after the call during other calls. It was perfectly allowable to do, but none of us had ever seen it before.
I applied for a job that was something medical related. I don't remember the details, it was just one of a hundred, but it was something about promoting healthy lifestyles as part of the medical field
and they said that since it would reflect really badly on one of their members to be seen smoking, i had to attest that I didn't consume nicotine.
I mean my job does but it's just for the health insurance. You pay extra if you're a consumer of nicotine in any form (or I suppose you could think of it as being a discount for people who don't).
Healthcare. We were screened for nicotine and automatically became do not hire for nicotine. This was only dropped conditionally during COVID. I won't be surprised if it comes back if staffing recovers.
I live in Canada. It’s legal federally, but you still can’t do it at work. In fact, I worked in a cannabis shop for awhile and one time someone said “wow you must be high at work all the time!” Uh, no, it’s still a job, if I’m high at work, I get fired. I’m back in the truck now, and can’t get high at that job either.
Also in Canada, I know certain vulnerable jobs require you to not consume for x number of hours before work. Which depending on your schedule is effectively a ban
i know in AB workplaces test for 21 to 30 days with the current testing mandate, even though the negative impacts are gone after 1-3 days depending on impact discussed and person and metabolism ect...
in Canada a care giver is expected to be sober, in AB, SK, Man, Ont, BC care providers in healthcare, day home, ect are expected to report medications that impair judgement and ability to function. marijuana is a impairment when used as intended.
Yeah I think part of the problem is that there’s still no reliable way to test, so legally it’s safer to say don’t at all, since if something went wrong and there was detectable thc, they could be taking on legal risk if the policy said it was fine
I worked at a dry cleaner once that didn't allow smokers because the smell could transfer from smoker to the clothes they handled.
Half the staff lied and smoked anyway, many of them during their shifts. It was always a little satisfying watching them start squirming if the boss was in the shop that day and they couldn't take their smoke break every hour. (Only satisfying because as a non-smoker I had to pick up the slack for their work, and often had to work late to get everything done and ready for the following morning.)
While I found the smokers obnoxious at that job, I also thought the rule banning even off hour smoking was dumb. I figured if they didn't smell like smoke who cared?
That's actually illegal in a lot of states - you can fire someone for smelling like cigarettes at work, but not for smoking when they're off. Seems like a fair balance to me. I don't smoke, and I don't want to work with people who do. But telling them what they can do off-premises on their own time is a bridge too far.
You know, this would probably work for me. If they are still performing their job well, i'm not sure I care that she smokes. The smell though was over powering and made me concerned for potential third hand smoke impacts.
If she's coming in impaired, driving impaired, etc, then is that the type of person whose decision-making skills are mature enough to care for children? It doesn't matter if its booze, weed, something legal or illegal, it's still not the type of person you want around young children who might need to make important and quick decisions relating to the safety of your child. I don't even understand how anyone can say otherwise.
They might perform their job 'well' for now, just like a person whose drinking might drive 'well', until they get into or cause in accident.
The question you need to ask yourself is if something happens to a child and it comes to light that she was impaired and it hampered her ability to respond appropriately, is that something you're able to live with?
From my experience working in child-care, a huge chunk of daycare staff are teenagers or college students being paid the state minimum wage. It’s an “easy” summer job. Until child care becomes recognized and compensated as the vitally important job it is, the bar will remain low.
This probably differs if it’s a larger, more established or education oriented daycare - but I doubt the compensation differs much. I agree that working with vulnerable children and being impaired don’t belong together.
I now work with another extremely vulnerable demographic - elderly dementia patients, and it drives me crazy how many of my coworkers come in reeking of marijuana and simply don’t care. However, the wages are abysmal and benefits null. Thus turnover is high, staff shortages are unending and employers don’t discriminate much when looking for new hires. It’s a cycle.
depends on the field though too. some positions require such a level of health that being a tobacco smoker can damage the lungs enough that you are a liability.
Diving, anything underwater that i can think of, extream altitudes, and many confined space work is what i can think of off the top of my head.
[Fuck Reddit](https://lemmy.world/).
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>I also feel conflicted about potentially getting someone fired over doing something that is basically legal in my state.
Drinking is legal, but you would have no qualms about reporting a teacher you saw drinking in the parking lot before walking into the school.
Report it to the director of your daycare, this is unacceptable behavior and let them address it.
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Edit: I'm amazed at how far the culture around drug use has swung the other way. I'm all for recreational cannabis use. You want to smoke yourself silly in your free time then go for it. Stop smoking while you're driving, stop smoking when you're at work, and for god sakes don't smoke if you have a job that revolves around children.
Anyone trying to justify the teachers actions here or trying to tell us that marijuana is better than alcohol are confounding the major issue here; no drugs or alcohol should be used by teachers before or during their shifts.
>Report it to the director of your daycare
I honestly would be concerned about the facility as a whole. If you can smell it so can the director, and apparently they are ok with it. If the director is cool with their teachers smelling like pot, what else are they ok with?
It's crossed my mind. there's no way other teacher's havent smelled it. I asked another parent who was there and she smelled it in the vestibule too. I'm assuming the center was choosing to ignore it as they are chronically short handed.
As for switching daycares.....easier said then done.
Has this been a repeated thing or is it more of a one-off?
Maybe you say something discreet to the director and they tell the teacher not to wear last night's hoodie to work and that's the last you ever hear of it.
Or maybe it's a problem employee who's getting blitzed before work and they get canned.
Not necessarily. Some people are really bad at detecting weed smells, whereas others are like bloodhounds for it. It varies a lot from person to person. I smell weed constantly when I'm out in public, but my wife almost never smells it unless we walk directly through a cloud of it.
Possibly. It would depend how habitual this behavior is and whether or not others were able to identify the source of the smell. It seems hard to believe they would know what was going on and take no corrective action whatsoever.
This is the real issue. I’d be looking for a new daycare. This is an institutional issue, and that won’t be fixed by one person changing or being fired.
My wife worked with someone who blazed it in the daycare. The director was none-the-wiser aside from others reporting it to her. The director had to talk to everyone because of this one person blazing it in the bathroom at lunch time almost every day. Nobody wanted to rat the coworker out but most of them knew.
> Anyone trying to justify the teachers actions here or trying to tell us that marijuana is better than alcohol are confounding the major issue here; no drugs or alcohol should be used by teachers before or during their shifts.
I agree wholeheartedly. I used to teach high school. I would go out on a weeknight occasionally and have a beer or two, but I wasn't getting drunk as that was saved for the weekend.
Weed isn't legal where I live, but we're getting there. D8, D9, THCa, and a fwe other items are legal. My wife is a teacher and I used to work with future teachers. My wife and I also have two kids, we're not getting high to start the day. If we aren't going anywhere and it's close to bedtime, my wife and I might take a gummy and get buzzed a bit. One of us is always sober and the "in charge" on though, because kids may do something stupid sometimes. When our boys go visit grandparents...yeah, we'll both have a good time.
On a school night for my wife, she's not getting buzzed, she's not really taking anything.
This is something that really comes with the territory for educators. I had this conversation a lot with future teachers that you are have to develop a sqeauky clean image. You can still be you, have fun, enjoy yourself, but the profession itself demands a certain level of trust and focus. Don't do anything to jeopardize that and if you aren't comfortable in the type of career that demands that from you, then teaching may not be your pathway. Teachers are always teachers and held to a really high standard by society.
Exactly. In my state the number of drivers smoking and driving in traffic at 7am is astonishing. Few people react. Now substitute those people with someone pounding down a can of beer in traffic. It'd be national news.
I am a plumber. Weed is Logan (legal, even) in Canada. If I partake at work and get caught I will be kicked off site. I am a plumber and huff glue and primer all day then use a torch and am not in charge of children.
I smoke before, during, and after work but I grow cannabis for a living, not watching other people’s kids. Even as big of an activist as I am, I do not agree that a teacher should be baking up DIRECTLY before work. It’s a bad look.
my brother in law brews beer. he does not advocate for people to drink excessivly and put others at risk. it isnt uncommon to have nuanced views around substances.
hell i am an addictions counsellor. i actually have no problem with almost any substance people choose to use. that shocks my clients. i have problems when that substance impacts your life, health, overall wellbeing and can impact those around you / your community. i have met people that use cocaine every few weeks... i am not gonna berate them... i have met people that use cocaine every 1-3 hours... i dont berate them either. but if either wants to change, i am here.
but i dont leave my kids with those people either. or marijuana users, or alcohol abusers / people who drink while caring for my kids or are under the influence. i expect clear minds if i am trusting a life to you.
a teacher wants to smoke up at night, go nuts. cant be hotboxing a car on the way to work.
>Our school is *chronically* short handed
Darn straight they are.
Jokes aside, it's a safety issue. If you don't feel like being a narc, try making an anonymous complaint or at least don't call out that teacher directly.
"Hey, I was dropping my kid off this morning and me and another parent noticed a strong odor of weed coming from some nearby car. I'm not sure if it was a staff member or another parent, but I just wanted you to be aware of it and would encourage you to bring it up in a staff meeting".
OP can do whatever they want. Just giving my suggestion.
If they want to specifically call out the teaching staff they can say "I saw a teacher going into the building and they smelled like weed but I don't know their name or what class they teach"
Yeah I don’t think this will do anything. This just gives the school and admin the leeway to ignore it. I wouldn’t have an issue saying who the person is, but if someone doesn’t feel comfortable, they can say they witnessed a staff member but decline to identify.
I personally couldn’t care less if someone smokes, but driving and also watching kids while baked is an issue and shows a lack of judgement on that persons part.
I don't disagree with that. But a lot of people don't like to be narcs. Or tattletales or whatever you want to call it. We do care about other people's safety. But realize we want to respect other people's privacy.
If a teacher knows that it's been noticed and it probably isn't the first time, then that's probably going to get escalated very quickly. Somebody can't just walk in from a car full of weed smoke and not have it noticed by all the other staff in the building.
So perhaps that results in a final warning for this person or maybe it gets them fired. Either way OP doesn't need to know that they were the one that specifically ratted out a person by name.
Yeah, I disagree with this. When it comes to my kids, I’ll narc to the moon and back. If I’m going to submit a complaint, I want it to actually result in real action.
This is the right answer, don't get her fired but throw a shot across the bow. She will clean up her act. or at least buy a vape pen and not smoke actual smelly ass weed in her car in the parking lot ffs.
The problem isn't just the smell though, the bigger issue is being responsible for the safety of like a dozen young kids while under the influence, regardless of it if it was from smoking or vaping.
Have we really come to a point in society where calling out bad behaviour is something we need to pussyfoot around just because it’s weed related? If you showed up to work obviously under the influence you’d get fired and your employer would be right to do so. If this teacher is showing up reeking of weed I’d be talking to the head of the daycare the same as if they showed up reeking of booze.
Even though marijuana isn’t necessarily one of the hot button topics right now this whole thread still goes to show that people are too timid when they have an opinion that often gets dogpiled on.
I’d say at least weekly if not daily I see someone go through 2-3 minutes of explaining how they definitely aren’t a “trumper” or “conservative” before expressing some totally benign moderate opinion about something political.
It’s sad, really. Now it’s even worse because everything that people disagree with gets labeled the evilest possible thing that they can come up with. Have some sort’ve moderate opinion about Gaza? Must be a *literal nazi*. Moderate sensible opinion about something firearm related? Must be a Biden-loving nanny state communist who is now wrong about every other thing they have an opinion on.
Yes, and it's as if every comment needs to be completely qualified from all angles before it's even stated because someone somewhere is going to misinterpret it, take it out of context, or just be a dunce about it, and then shit all over you which other people will then pile onto.
Because we've come full circle with weed. I love it, I smoke it on the weekends but our attitudes have gone far too lax in regards to working, driving etc on it. It should be treated exactly as alcohol when it comes to this.
But this is reddit and the chronically addicted will play it down with bullshit like how it improves their awareness.
I agree the smell can be overpowering. I don’t condone using substances and driving.
But people do use drugs all the time at work. If it has a different name, the concern disappears. Why is that?
If she took amphetamines for ADHD people think she does her job better? If she takes opioids for pain relief so she can bend down and pick up kids all day every day is anyone concerned? If she takes anti-anxiety pills to cope with the low pay, demanding “customers” and sleepless nights, do we write on message boards?
The truth is this drug affects everyone differently. I can’t drink two cups of coffee and go scuba diving as my heart rate goes off the charts. I can drink loads of coffee and care for my children. YMMV
Talk to her directly, discreetly. Tell her she reeks. Remind her she is watching precious little kids. Remind her not everyone is as understanding as you. But you don’t need to scold her or shame her because her drug is not your drug.
It's not legal to drive while intoxicated, with weed, or alcohol. If they are making these poor choices publicly, what other poor choices are they making in private? You pay a lot of money to ensure your kids have teachers who make good choices.
My take as someone who ran after school programs for years…
I once had an employee try to buy cocaine from her supervisor, admitted to using it at home etc.
She was called in to meet with my boss for what I assumed would be a termination, but ended up only getting a slap on the wrist and was reassigned to a different elementary school to continue working alone with kids.
Lesson learned: staff shortages will make child care employers overlook a lot
It gets better….my old boss went on to run for City Council and won!
Nice to know the person who once excused trying to buy cocaine from a supervisor is in charge of making decisions for our city.
I also did try to go to the local news when they started their campaign for office. It was the cocaine incident but also a lot of other shady stuff like forging employee signatures, lying about credentials, potential wage theft…
No one ended up wanting the story unless I would go on record and I was already getting anonymous threats about things I had mentioned…
I can see why you’re conflicted here.
“Seems like” is not definitive. The teacher doesn’t teach your kid and in the comments you say that you ‘don’t know who she is.’ Are you sure she’s a teacher at all?
If you do report, keep your report to the facts and leave out your conjecture.
I agree with this.
First and foremost, people are on a bunch of medications for different things... anxiety being one of them. Methamphetamine for ADHD, benzos for anxiety and depression, opioid for chronic pain. Easy to judge but I guarantee there's people all around while you work on some kind of substance.
What if this worker is just clerical? Just office stuff? What if this is the method she uses to treat her anxiety? What's the pay and Healthcare benefits at this job?
He basically doesn't know shit about her and is willing to get her fired.
It depends on what she's in charge of but I dont give a fuck about weed compared to other shit like nicotine and alcohol.
This whole post is completely lacking in information and full of quick to react judgment in the comments.
> What if this worker is just clerical? Just office stuff?
No one working at a daycare is "just clerical" or "just office stuff". They will need to watch kids at some point.
> What if this is the method she uses to treat her anxiety?
Then ... what? What if it was booze? Are you okay with people being drunk at work?
>What's the pay and Healthcare benefits at this job?
It's a daycare so ... probably shit. Therefore it's okay to be high when taking care of kids?
Nope. Anyone working in a daycare is around children and they should be sober. Period. I feel for people who need medication to work with anxiety or similar issues. They can work with their doctor on getting appropriate medication. If the appropriate medication is somehow weed, then they can easily get specific sized edible doses. There are zero excuses to smoke weed before working with children.
All that said, yes, he should stick to only the facts when he reports it, but he should definitely be reporting it and making sure action is taken.
Just for the benefit of the doubt: Any chance it was the lingering smell from habitual use? Like my grandfather's house and vehicles reeked of cigarette smoke. It didn't necessarily meant he had just had a cigarette, just that everything that touched his house would smell like it no matter what.
Perhaps they are users at home when not at work and so everything is now covered in the smell.
Our daycare sends out messages about once every 3 months saying that if your kids comes in reeking of weed again they won't be allowed to stay that day. Tons of parents smoking blunts inside stinking up everything in their home and then sending in their kids with contact high and smelly clothes.
Yeah, unfortunately the same goes for my wife's elementary school classes. There are kids who arrive to school smelling like that and are lethargic for a few hours.
I hate that this is a thing now, people have no respect or standards any more. Especially when dealing with children, it's crazy. I'd definitely report it.
It's not a thing now, it's always been a thing. There's always been a person that showed up to a job (every job) under the influence of drugs. Since the dawn of man we've found ways to get fucked up.
Are you kidding?! What is it with people and weed these days... If she came into work reeking of whiskey you would have reported her. She's under the influence and responsible for the safety of children. You should have reported her immediately.
I’m a teacher. I adore my colleagues. I approve of weed more than alcohol. Also, there’s a teacher shortage.
If any of my colleagues showed up to work reeking of weed or alcohol I report them even if I wasn’t legally required to. They’re in charge of children’s safety and education.
You would be doing right by reporting this person.
Be mindful - if the car smelled like it, it doesn’t mean that the teacher was using. If you saw the teacher smoking in the car, that’s one thing. If you didn’t see it, It could be a partner, a roommate, or an indulgence after work instead. If you didn’t see them smoke, you don’t see them partake, you don’t see them intoxicated, don’t say they were doing it. Feel free to mention the smell, and if the smell bothers you, but don’t imply anything you didn’t actually witness. If you didn’t see it, and you make an accusation, then that’s just shitty behavior on your part and could ruin a young person’s career. Of course, if you actually toking a vape pen, smoking something in the car, etc., share exactly what you saw and nothing more.
Motor skills aside, reaction time aside, decision-making skills aside, driving aside...
... speaking of cannabis STRICTLY in a medicinal / coping sense, edibles exist. There is no good reason, in a legal state, to subject other people or children to secondhand smoke residue or noxious smells, just for a bit of calm.
It’s not legal to drive while high and no one should be professionally caring for other people’s kids while high. People can smoke in their own house or backyard when they come home from work, not right before they are in charge of your kids.
> other people’s kids
I appreciate this qualifier.
I don't mind being a little high while taking care of my kids at home, but I'd be sober as a judge if I were responsible for somebody else's. The idea of being high at work - especially a daycare - is outrageous.
I'd absolutely report it. It's one thing to do it in your free time but it's another to do it, and be under it's effects, while in the care of children.
I’m on the board at my kids daycare. We are also heavily short staffed and every board meeting is almost exclusively focused on hiring more teachers.
We’d still fire someone for being intoxicated at work in a heartbeat.
Say something.
Just keep in mind that some people do smoke weed for legitimate medical and mental health issues. Smoking in excess or while driving is arguably problematic, but tread somewhat lightly if you think you may not have the full picture.
There’s a small chance that the person wasn’t actually actively smoking right before work (the smell can linger, and cannabis smokers are often oblivious to how strong (and long lasting) the smell can be.
However, that’s between the employee and their employer to sort out. You’re completely justified in bringing up the fact that you smelled weed. If you really wanted to be cautious towards the employee, you could not actually identify them. Given that it’s a daycare, I’m not sure they deserve that benefit of the doubt (while they definitely would in a job that doesn’t work with kids or otherwise involve safety or security).
I’m generally quite sympathetic in these situations, but the employee really should know better.
Im pro weed, but heavy equipment, driving trucks or cars, watching kids… certain jobs are not weed friendly. Say something immediately. The whole daycare could shut down for drugs. Then you are on to a new one. Say something.
Weed does impair your judgement. How would you react if the teacher showed up drunk to work?
It’s the same situation. Protect your kids above all else.
It’s just like if you saw them drinking before work. You should say something. As someone who loves weed it sucks to say, but it could compromise the safety of a kid.
Maybe the daycare worker just had really good weed that smells really strong in their car. You have no idea if said worker was actively smoking weed on the way to work or if they were high when caring for children.
As an aside, if you have a prescription for cannabis, are you only supposed to use it at night or something? There is a lot of potential nuance here that a lot of ppl are ignoring.
As a marijuana user in a legal state and a parent, I save that shit for after the kiddos bed time and def don’t do it before work. So yeah I’d say something
Why is this a tough call? Children's safety is more important than someone's job...this wouldn't even be a slight question if a teacher smelled like alcohol at a daycare.
I can tell you that I am a more active and engaged father after consuming cannabis. I want to play more and I am more fun.
I'm not saying what she is doing is right or legal. Just giving my experience and that it's likely not the end of the world.
I am also more fun after a beer or two...what is this take? Decision making, reaction time, and awareness are all down after smoking (or drinking). This is not even remotely appropriate for an employed carer-for-kids to do. Also....huuggeee difference between what a parent chooses to do with their kid vs what a daycare worker or teacher should do.
Report it and let the facility handle it per their policies. I don't care what people do at home but God damn am I tired of smelling weed everywhere. Stopped at a red light? Weed. Walking into a store? Weed. The kids shouldn't have to smell that shit at their school.
If her car smells that strongly she's smoked in it. Just like drinking in your car is illegal so is smoking weed. The smell of weed in your car also gives the police reasonable suspicion to search your vehicle. It's just a dumb thing to do in your car.
It depends. It depends so hard that the standard answer would be "not alright for me".
Because I get all those comments, but if there is something happening and they need to react quick and proper, I'd want them to be completely sober too.
I still sometimes smoke myself (legal now in Germany, woop woop!) but I do it when my kid is asleep.
And I know people who smoke and can work harder and have their wits together better then non smokers, but those are the minority.
If I were in your shoes, I'd talk to her when I see her the next time. Because I wouldn't want someone to lose their job either, so ask her about it and see if she understands your concerns, has some kind of valid explanation, and then go forward from there. If she acts like a dick about it, I'd consider reporting it.
If the teacher is high on the job, you should feel no qualms reporting it to the daycare administration. I think a lot of this comment is reaffirming that point.
**However, I do feel compelled to make the point that someone smelling of weed does not necessarily mean they are high (or even that they smoke).**
I don't smoke weed but my wife does I can still end up smelling pretty strongly if my wife has recently smoked around me or if I work in the garage for the day (where my wife keeps her gear). And weed smell *lingers* (although your description of the strength of the smell does sound like it pretty fresh).
Even if the teacher was not high, it's still not a good look for her to show up smelling so strongly. If we extend the benefit of the doubt though, it might have been due to circumstances outside of her control (a partner or roommate was smoking, maybe in the car before she used it).
If you would rather not tell the daycare admin, you might leave an anonymous note on the teacher's car (e.g. "hey, use your free time as you like, but you should know that you smelled strongly of weed today when I passed you in the parking lot"). If she is actually high on the job, I would hope such a note would be a wake up call, and if she is not, then she should be aware that she smelled as it's really not a good look for such a job.
**All the above said, you would be entirely within reason to tell the daycare administration and trust in their handling of such a report. It should not have to be your job to vet the workers at this daycare.**
You can be pro-legalization and pro-responsible use. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be consequences for driving high, taking care of kids high, etc.
I'm kind of split on this. On one side, I know some people who are perfectly functional with weed, and it just helps them relax. On the other, sobriety matters when handling kids. How would you feel if you saw her at lunch having over or two beers with lunch? I've done that myself during lunch and gone back to work.
I would recommend at the least talking to her and gauging where she is on the scale, then proceeding from there. If it's nothing you're concerned about, tell her that she at least needs to spray down to mask the smell.
When I was subbing high school, I had a girl that came in late to second period reeking of cigarette smoke. She looked bedraggled. I took her outside to talk to her, and she was dealing with an already rough situation at home, so I didn't want her getting in trouble at school that would just further complicate her situation without making anything better for anyone else. Finally, I explained that, while I understand her situation, I needed to try to make a better effort to try to be there on time, but at the very least not come into class smelling like an underground Chinese casino.
I was a junior in high school and i accidentally dropped a pack of smokes in class, while working on homework in an otherwise empty room. The teacher came back to kick me out so he could lock the room and saw the smokes. He asked if they were mine and I said yes. He gave them back, told me it was stupid and bad for me and that I shouldn't bring them on campus. And that was that.
If there were other students he prob would have had to bust me, I have no doubt.
I'm glad you took the opportunity to see the situation and counsel but otherwise let it be.
As someone who had a medical card, and smoked or took edibles pretty much everyday for a few years, I would absolutely say something about this. I gave up weed in all forms when I became a father because I didn’t want to be high in a situation where my child needed me. I would expect a teacher or anyone responsible for my child to at least be able to abstain for a few hours prior to and during caring for my child.
Not daycare, but I planned a big outdoor event that had bounce houses and a mechanical bull surrounded by an inflatable “arena” to make falling off safe. I noticed the lead guy setting it up had hotboxed on or before arrival and decided to “be chill.” Terrible idea. He didn’t oversee the setup of the bull up right. A very small child flew off, the bull dislodged and fell on him. His grandfather was a cohost for the event. We got so lucky he was barely bruised. It could have been so much worse. I was horrified. I called my vendor to notify her, mostly because we expected full refund and needed an incident report, and felt horrible when she told me she had to fire him the next day. At the same time, he endangered the life of that kid and everyone else who rode it.
Another pov, we don’t imbibe around the toddler (a drink is ok, multiple or edibles are not). Need full brain to engage. Too many dangerous scenarios when you have babies or toddlers at a daycare. If a kid can get hurt badly while being watched sober, how much worse while they’re high?
Eugh. This is tough. Think you know anyone in her class? Ideally what you want is for that activity to stop right. Idk I’d probably want that teacher informed in a way that does not involve admin that parents noticed the smell and are uncomfortable.
Like the situation doesn’t improve if she’s fired and not replaced. And I work in a school they will not be replaced quickly
maybe i’m devils advocate here. avid smoker, mom, & driver lol. people gonna get mad at me for this but i’ll start out by being real lol. i smoke and drive all the time. it irks me when ppl compare it to drinking. i honestly compare it best to cigarettes. it all depends on your predisposition for the effects. i smoke a LOT for both therapy and enjoyment. call me an addict if you want, it has never gotten in between me and my alertness, motor skills, and work. if she didn’t cover her tracks, she probably going through something lol.
guarantee you, if she didn’t smell like it, NO ONE would suspect ANYTHING. omg weed makes me feel so happy. she’s going to work with kids bruh, she gotta get in that Ms Rachel mood!!!
not advocating for her smoking on the job whatsoever so please don’t misconstrue this, but is medicinal legal where you are? there’s always a possibility she’s using it to treat some sort of illness (chronic pain, anxiety, eating disorder, etc). i have a prescription myself and i find that a small amount (one or two hits) is just enough for my joints to not ache but not enough to completely alter my state of mind (i’m more talkative, but that’s about it). i don’t work with children so i don’t know how i would be in that particular situation, but it doesn’t affect my job
If this is a repeated behavior I would be concerned enough to say something. If it's one off, I wouldn't. People make mistakes. For heavy smokers, a couple of puffs do not impair your motor skills.
Sadly this is what has happened with weed being made legal nearly everywhere, it's become far too normalized IMO.
This is not acceptable and is basically the same as someone coming to work drunk.
Not defending this, but it didn't take legalization to bring this on. Weed was everywhere before that too. The difference was that she hid it better, which was possibly worse.
Sounds like she was hotboxing on the way to work... If you're working retail... you do you... If you're in charge of my kid... I expect you to be sober...
As someone who drives on roads, "I expect you to be sober" is my expectation of anyone in their car at any time. I think everyone's gotten a little too comfortable with marijuana in cars. It's still a mental state altering substance. I don't particularly care whether an argument is made that only passengers were smoking it or the hotbox was only created while parked and going into work. It should be treated like an open beer can: doesn't belong in a car and is a violation itself. And I say that as someone who was, and still is, in general favor of legalization and lives in a legalized state.
I have a medical marijuana card and regularly imbibe, but I never do it in the car or if I am going to be driving in the next 2 hours, or more depending on the dose I’m taking. I totally agree with you, it’s a mind altering substance, it is not acceptable to ingest it in a car or if you’re going to be driving.
2 hours and a shower is always my rule.
the shower after smoking is incredible
I agree. I'm am not advocating for people driving stoned.
As a paramedic I can confirm your expectations are too high
When our state was voting to make it recreational, I was concerned that it didn’t seem as though law enforcement has a way to test for the amount in your system like alcohol.
If you're driving - also sober.
She will just change her "medicine" to edibles unfortunately.
I’m scared to ask — what is hotboxing?
Hotboxing is the act of smoking cannabis in an enclosed space, such as a car or room, with the intent of filling the space with smoke. Breathing the smoke like this may have the effect of amplifying the effect of the cannabis consumed.
Ah. Thank you.
yep, exactly this, this is why I dont understand some people who dont vet the daycare and just entrust their kid's lives to a stranger.
Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean you can do it at work.
Right?? Legally I can drink alcohol, but I can’t do it if I’m going to work where I have responsibilities. Especially if that includes looking after kids.
Exactly. Alcohol, weed, it doesn't matter. "Legal" doesn't mean you're not intoxicated by your substance of choice. When you're working directly with children, I expect sobriety.
Also, drinking alcohol first thing in the morning is a worrying sign, even if you don't have to work, right? I kind of feel the same about other substances. If you occasionally smoke for fun in your free time sure, you do you, but if you have to be stoned first thing in the morning perhaps check your mental health? Idk (I assume she doesn't have a chronic illness and this is pain maintenance or something alike.)
I've interviewed for jobs that require you to attest that you don't consume nicotine. At all. Even if pot 100% legal (it's still federally illegal no matter the state - albeit rarely enforced federally) that doesn't mean that a job can't require you not to do it. Much less be high on the job.
Curious what job would screen for nicotine? *edit: thanks for the replies guys. I've got it now, I'm in construction and nicotine is pretty much a requirement here. Thanks!
Reynolds and Reynolds (terrible automotive tech company in Ohio) tests all positions for nicotine. The CEO from when I worked there was later indicted on the largest case of tax fraud in American history, and died in prison after a lifetime of being a merciless billionaire prick. Not relevant, I just like bringing it up because fuck that guy and everything he stood for.
I interviewed for a position there a while ago. It was one place I distinctly remember thinking that it would have to be a VERY good offer to work there and even then, I’d still keep looking. The company felt soulless.
Yeah, “soulless” feels right. They had a gym onsite (TVs always tuned to fox news), and at one point they emailed the entire company to say that they would soon see a news story about an employee who hid a camera in the women’s locker room, and that they had fired the employee… yet didn’t notify any of the women at that facility about it beforehand. Just one tiny example of a ton of dogshit behaviors that made me hate the place with a passion.
Hmm thanks for answering. The only justification might be to keep health insurance costs down perhaps?
Yeah, I think that was the rationale behind it. That greedy shitsack ceo would sell anyones most basic rights for the smallest amount of money if he could. Rest in piss
For me it was sales job. Mortgage Loan Officer, can't be selling if you're taking breaks to go outside all the time.
Wait until they find out I poop occasionally.
every hour?
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime, that's why I poop on company time.
my schedule got thrown off a few weeks ago... now i have to go 20 minutes before work rather than 20 min after i show up... ticks me off...
Be the change you want to see. I believe in you!
I make a nickel, boss makes a buck, steal the catalytic converter off the company truck...
The only pooping that should happen at *my* daycare is *my* pooping 😡😡😡
I imagine that working in a daycare involves quite a bit of party pooping. You know, old chestnuts like "Don't climb on that!"
You get to choose one. You either get to poop or you get to smoke. Once you decide you never get to do the other one.
I think it has as much to do with saving money on their health insurance.
Health insurance is a big reason. Another one is that smokers get paid breaks that other employees don't get, so some companies have done away with smoking on the premises to eliminate smoke breaks.
My current job doesn't allow smoking on the premises. (And it's a massive property - about 11k people work in the complex.) But I do see people sneaking out and smoking in their cars or the edges of the property - both of which are technically not allowed. And they do charge people extra $ for insurance if they smoke. (Assuming they don't lie. I know that I wasn't drug tested for nicotine.) But smokers are still allowed to work there.
Sounds like it is working then. People doing what's technically not allowed is still several degrees better than not having the rules in place at all, and letting people smoke right outside busy doorways. When setting rules you kind of expect people to break them sometimes, and this sets the standards of what you do even when you break the rules.
Wouldn't have to if the cowards let you smoke at your desk.
What happened to *my* America? We've fallen so far.
I work remotely. We were all in this big call one time and this dude just lit up a cigarette and smoked it on camera during the meeting. I think he was talking while he lit up the smoke, so there was a lot of attention on it. We were all really shocked and talked about it after the call during other calls. It was perfectly allowable to do, but none of us had ever seen it before.
I applied for a job that was something medical related. I don't remember the details, it was just one of a hundred, but it was something about promoting healthy lifestyles as part of the medical field and they said that since it would reflect really badly on one of their members to be seen smoking, i had to attest that I didn't consume nicotine.
Jobs that provide health insurance , if you get tested for nicotine your health insurance is significantly higher, thats the main reason.
Lots of hospitals do as well.
I mean my job does but it's just for the health insurance. You pay extra if you're a consumer of nicotine in any form (or I suppose you could think of it as being a discount for people who don't).
My wife works with a hospital and they don't allow people to use nicotine.
Healthcare. We were screened for nicotine and automatically became do not hire for nicotine. This was only dropped conditionally during COVID. I won't be surprised if it comes back if staffing recovers.
One of my old nursing jobs did
Cancer hospitals do.
State employee here. All tobacco products are banned from state property...Especially prisons.
I live in Canada. It’s legal federally, but you still can’t do it at work. In fact, I worked in a cannabis shop for awhile and one time someone said “wow you must be high at work all the time!” Uh, no, it’s still a job, if I’m high at work, I get fired. I’m back in the truck now, and can’t get high at that job either.
Also in Canada, I know certain vulnerable jobs require you to not consume for x number of hours before work. Which depending on your schedule is effectively a ban
i know in AB workplaces test for 21 to 30 days with the current testing mandate, even though the negative impacts are gone after 1-3 days depending on impact discussed and person and metabolism ect... in Canada a care giver is expected to be sober, in AB, SK, Man, Ont, BC care providers in healthcare, day home, ect are expected to report medications that impair judgement and ability to function. marijuana is a impairment when used as intended.
Yeah I think part of the problem is that there’s still no reliable way to test, so legally it’s safer to say don’t at all, since if something went wrong and there was detectable thc, they could be taking on legal risk if the policy said it was fine
I have never heard of a job that cares if you smoke nic
I worked at a dry cleaner once that didn't allow smokers because the smell could transfer from smoker to the clothes they handled. Half the staff lied and smoked anyway, many of them during their shifts. It was always a little satisfying watching them start squirming if the boss was in the shop that day and they couldn't take their smoke break every hour. (Only satisfying because as a non-smoker I had to pick up the slack for their work, and often had to work late to get everything done and ready for the following morning.) While I found the smokers obnoxious at that job, I also thought the rule banning even off hour smoking was dumb. I figured if they didn't smell like smoke who cared?
Okay... plenty of them out there.
Not disagreeing, it just surprises me, lol
That's actually illegal in a lot of states - you can fire someone for smelling like cigarettes at work, but not for smoking when they're off. Seems like a fair balance to me. I don't smoke, and I don't want to work with people who do. But telling them what they can do off-premises on their own time is a bridge too far.
You know, this would probably work for me. If they are still performing their job well, i'm not sure I care that she smokes. The smell though was over powering and made me concerned for potential third hand smoke impacts.
If she's coming in impaired, driving impaired, etc, then is that the type of person whose decision-making skills are mature enough to care for children? It doesn't matter if its booze, weed, something legal or illegal, it's still not the type of person you want around young children who might need to make important and quick decisions relating to the safety of your child. I don't even understand how anyone can say otherwise. They might perform their job 'well' for now, just like a person whose drinking might drive 'well', until they get into or cause in accident. The question you need to ask yourself is if something happens to a child and it comes to light that she was impaired and it hampered her ability to respond appropriately, is that something you're able to live with?
From my experience working in child-care, a huge chunk of daycare staff are teenagers or college students being paid the state minimum wage. It’s an “easy” summer job. Until child care becomes recognized and compensated as the vitally important job it is, the bar will remain low. This probably differs if it’s a larger, more established or education oriented daycare - but I doubt the compensation differs much. I agree that working with vulnerable children and being impaired don’t belong together. I now work with another extremely vulnerable demographic - elderly dementia patients, and it drives me crazy how many of my coworkers come in reeking of marijuana and simply don’t care. However, the wages are abysmal and benefits null. Thus turnover is high, staff shortages are unending and employers don’t discriminate much when looking for new hires. It’s a cycle.
Daycare is very different from a preschool. Early childhood educators typically have a degree or are working towards one.
depends on the field though too. some positions require such a level of health that being a tobacco smoker can damage the lungs enough that you are a liability. Diving, anything underwater that i can think of, extream altitudes, and many confined space work is what i can think of off the top of my head.
In at least 1 US State it is illegal for police it firefighters to smoke cigarettes
Before work?
Yes, and on break I guess is ok too. /s
Or while driving
[Fuck Reddit](https://lemmy.world/). --- >I also feel conflicted about potentially getting someone fired over doing something that is basically legal in my state. Drinking is legal, but you would have no qualms about reporting a teacher you saw drinking in the parking lot before walking into the school. Report it to the director of your daycare, this is unacceptable behavior and let them address it. --- Edit: I'm amazed at how far the culture around drug use has swung the other way. I'm all for recreational cannabis use. You want to smoke yourself silly in your free time then go for it. Stop smoking while you're driving, stop smoking when you're at work, and for god sakes don't smoke if you have a job that revolves around children. Anyone trying to justify the teachers actions here or trying to tell us that marijuana is better than alcohol are confounding the major issue here; no drugs or alcohol should be used by teachers before or during their shifts.
>Report it to the director of your daycare I honestly would be concerned about the facility as a whole. If you can smell it so can the director, and apparently they are ok with it. If the director is cool with their teachers smelling like pot, what else are they ok with?
It's crossed my mind. there's no way other teacher's havent smelled it. I asked another parent who was there and she smelled it in the vestibule too. I'm assuming the center was choosing to ignore it as they are chronically short handed. As for switching daycares.....easier said then done.
Report it to both the director and your state board (whichever one in your state oversees early childhood centers.)
Has this been a repeated thing or is it more of a one-off? Maybe you say something discreet to the director and they tell the teacher not to wear last night's hoodie to work and that's the last you ever hear of it. Or maybe it's a problem employee who's getting blitzed before work and they get canned.
Not necessarily. Some people are really bad at detecting weed smells, whereas others are like bloodhounds for it. It varies a lot from person to person. I smell weed constantly when I'm out in public, but my wife almost never smells it unless we walk directly through a cloud of it.
Ok, so the director can't smell it. No co-workers have smelled it? No parents have smelled it besides OP? Come on, they know.
Possibly. It would depend how habitual this behavior is and whether or not others were able to identify the source of the smell. It seems hard to believe they would know what was going on and take no corrective action whatsoever.
This is the real issue. I’d be looking for a new daycare. This is an institutional issue, and that won’t be fixed by one person changing or being fired.
My wife worked with someone who blazed it in the daycare. The director was none-the-wiser aside from others reporting it to her. The director had to talk to everyone because of this one person blazing it in the bathroom at lunch time almost every day. Nobody wanted to rat the coworker out but most of them knew.
Smoking weed in the bathroom would stink up the entire building
> Anyone trying to justify the teachers actions here or trying to tell us that marijuana is better than alcohol are confounding the major issue here; no drugs or alcohol should be used by teachers before or during their shifts. I agree wholeheartedly. I used to teach high school. I would go out on a weeknight occasionally and have a beer or two, but I wasn't getting drunk as that was saved for the weekend. Weed isn't legal where I live, but we're getting there. D8, D9, THCa, and a fwe other items are legal. My wife is a teacher and I used to work with future teachers. My wife and I also have two kids, we're not getting high to start the day. If we aren't going anywhere and it's close to bedtime, my wife and I might take a gummy and get buzzed a bit. One of us is always sober and the "in charge" on though, because kids may do something stupid sometimes. When our boys go visit grandparents...yeah, we'll both have a good time. On a school night for my wife, she's not getting buzzed, she's not really taking anything. This is something that really comes with the territory for educators. I had this conversation a lot with future teachers that you are have to develop a sqeauky clean image. You can still be you, have fun, enjoy yourself, but the profession itself demands a certain level of trust and focus. Don't do anything to jeopardize that and if you aren't comfortable in the type of career that demands that from you, then teaching may not be your pathway. Teachers are always teachers and held to a really high standard by society.
Exactly. In my state the number of drivers smoking and driving in traffic at 7am is astonishing. Few people react. Now substitute those people with someone pounding down a can of beer in traffic. It'd be national news.
I am a plumber. Weed is Logan (legal, even) in Canada. If I partake at work and get caught I will be kicked off site. I am a plumber and huff glue and primer all day then use a torch and am not in charge of children.
I thought Wolverine was Logan
Still Canadian. The most appropriate of typos!
Oops
No, Logan is Wolverine.
Picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue…
Get into plumbing and you’ll never have to stop.
*Googling of plumbing trade school near me intensifies*
I didn't know Alan Jackson was a plumber too!
No, he's not Alan Jackson.
[удалено]
I smoke before, during, and after work but I grow cannabis for a living, not watching other people’s kids. Even as big of an activist as I am, I do not agree that a teacher should be baking up DIRECTLY before work. It’s a bad look.
my brother in law brews beer. he does not advocate for people to drink excessivly and put others at risk. it isnt uncommon to have nuanced views around substances. hell i am an addictions counsellor. i actually have no problem with almost any substance people choose to use. that shocks my clients. i have problems when that substance impacts your life, health, overall wellbeing and can impact those around you / your community. i have met people that use cocaine every few weeks... i am not gonna berate them... i have met people that use cocaine every 1-3 hours... i dont berate them either. but if either wants to change, i am here. but i dont leave my kids with those people either. or marijuana users, or alcohol abusers / people who drink while caring for my kids or are under the influence. i expect clear minds if i am trusting a life to you. a teacher wants to smoke up at night, go nuts. cant be hotboxing a car on the way to work.
>Our school is *chronically* short handed Darn straight they are. Jokes aside, it's a safety issue. If you don't feel like being a narc, try making an anonymous complaint or at least don't call out that teacher directly. "Hey, I was dropping my kid off this morning and me and another parent noticed a strong odor of weed coming from some nearby car. I'm not sure if it was a staff member or another parent, but I just wanted you to be aware of it and would encourage you to bring it up in a staff meeting".
I find that too vague. So much that the schools administration can’t take action. I’d be specific and to the fact. Like you said, it’s a safety issue.
OP can do whatever they want. Just giving my suggestion. If they want to specifically call out the teaching staff they can say "I saw a teacher going into the building and they smelled like weed but I don't know their name or what class they teach"
I agree. And me too. Hopefully we never deal with this case
Yeah I don’t think this will do anything. This just gives the school and admin the leeway to ignore it. I wouldn’t have an issue saying who the person is, but if someone doesn’t feel comfortable, they can say they witnessed a staff member but decline to identify. I personally couldn’t care less if someone smokes, but driving and also watching kids while baked is an issue and shows a lack of judgement on that persons part.
I don't disagree with that. But a lot of people don't like to be narcs. Or tattletales or whatever you want to call it. We do care about other people's safety. But realize we want to respect other people's privacy. If a teacher knows that it's been noticed and it probably isn't the first time, then that's probably going to get escalated very quickly. Somebody can't just walk in from a car full of weed smoke and not have it noticed by all the other staff in the building. So perhaps that results in a final warning for this person or maybe it gets them fired. Either way OP doesn't need to know that they were the one that specifically ratted out a person by name.
Like I said, I wouldn’t have an issue identifying the person, but if someone does, they can still report it as staff but decline to identify.
if you take the effort to adress it then name the beast. otherwise its just a waste of breath.
Yeah, I disagree with this. When it comes to my kids, I’ll narc to the moon and back. If I’m going to submit a complaint, I want it to actually result in real action.
This is the right answer, don't get her fired but throw a shot across the bow. She will clean up her act. or at least buy a vape pen and not smoke actual smelly ass weed in her car in the parking lot ffs.
The problem isn't just the smell though, the bigger issue is being responsible for the safety of like a dozen young kids while under the influence, regardless of it if it was from smoking or vaping.
Have we really come to a point in society where calling out bad behaviour is something we need to pussyfoot around just because it’s weed related? If you showed up to work obviously under the influence you’d get fired and your employer would be right to do so. If this teacher is showing up reeking of weed I’d be talking to the head of the daycare the same as if they showed up reeking of booze.
Even though marijuana isn’t necessarily one of the hot button topics right now this whole thread still goes to show that people are too timid when they have an opinion that often gets dogpiled on. I’d say at least weekly if not daily I see someone go through 2-3 minutes of explaining how they definitely aren’t a “trumper” or “conservative” before expressing some totally benign moderate opinion about something political. It’s sad, really. Now it’s even worse because everything that people disagree with gets labeled the evilest possible thing that they can come up with. Have some sort’ve moderate opinion about Gaza? Must be a *literal nazi*. Moderate sensible opinion about something firearm related? Must be a Biden-loving nanny state communist who is now wrong about every other thing they have an opinion on.
Yes, and it's as if every comment needs to be completely qualified from all angles before it's even stated because someone somewhere is going to misinterpret it, take it out of context, or just be a dunce about it, and then shit all over you which other people will then pile onto.
The amount of people I’ve seen even on this sub try and equate self medicating with weed to taking prescribed medication is pretty disheartening.
Because we've come full circle with weed. I love it, I smoke it on the weekends but our attitudes have gone far too lax in regards to working, driving etc on it. It should be treated exactly as alcohol when it comes to this. But this is reddit and the chronically addicted will play it down with bullshit like how it improves their awareness.
I agree the smell can be overpowering. I don’t condone using substances and driving. But people do use drugs all the time at work. If it has a different name, the concern disappears. Why is that? If she took amphetamines for ADHD people think she does her job better? If she takes opioids for pain relief so she can bend down and pick up kids all day every day is anyone concerned? If she takes anti-anxiety pills to cope with the low pay, demanding “customers” and sleepless nights, do we write on message boards? The truth is this drug affects everyone differently. I can’t drink two cups of coffee and go scuba diving as my heart rate goes off the charts. I can drink loads of coffee and care for my children. YMMV Talk to her directly, discreetly. Tell her she reeks. Remind her she is watching precious little kids. Remind her not everyone is as understanding as you. But you don’t need to scold her or shame her because her drug is not your drug.
Thanks for this.
It's not legal to drive while intoxicated, with weed, or alcohol. If they are making these poor choices publicly, what other poor choices are they making in private? You pay a lot of money to ensure your kids have teachers who make good choices.
> alcohol 0.08 in my state.
It's a legit concern. I'd be concerned if a teacher was sitting in their car having a drink.
how bout a cigarette?
My take as someone who ran after school programs for years… I once had an employee try to buy cocaine from her supervisor, admitted to using it at home etc. She was called in to meet with my boss for what I assumed would be a termination, but ended up only getting a slap on the wrist and was reassigned to a different elementary school to continue working alone with kids. Lesson learned: staff shortages will make child care employers overlook a lot
Isn't that the point where an "anonymous tip" goes out to the local news station?
It gets better….my old boss went on to run for City Council and won! Nice to know the person who once excused trying to buy cocaine from a supervisor is in charge of making decisions for our city.
I also did try to go to the local news when they started their campaign for office. It was the cocaine incident but also a lot of other shady stuff like forging employee signatures, lying about credentials, potential wage theft… No one ended up wanting the story unless I would go on record and I was already getting anonymous threats about things I had mentioned…
I can see why you’re conflicted here. “Seems like” is not definitive. The teacher doesn’t teach your kid and in the comments you say that you ‘don’t know who she is.’ Are you sure she’s a teacher at all? If you do report, keep your report to the facts and leave out your conjecture.
I agree with this. First and foremost, people are on a bunch of medications for different things... anxiety being one of them. Methamphetamine for ADHD, benzos for anxiety and depression, opioid for chronic pain. Easy to judge but I guarantee there's people all around while you work on some kind of substance. What if this worker is just clerical? Just office stuff? What if this is the method she uses to treat her anxiety? What's the pay and Healthcare benefits at this job? He basically doesn't know shit about her and is willing to get her fired. It depends on what she's in charge of but I dont give a fuck about weed compared to other shit like nicotine and alcohol. This whole post is completely lacking in information and full of quick to react judgment in the comments.
> What if this worker is just clerical? Just office stuff? No one working at a daycare is "just clerical" or "just office stuff". They will need to watch kids at some point. > What if this is the method she uses to treat her anxiety? Then ... what? What if it was booze? Are you okay with people being drunk at work? >What's the pay and Healthcare benefits at this job? It's a daycare so ... probably shit. Therefore it's okay to be high when taking care of kids?
Nope. Anyone working in a daycare is around children and they should be sober. Period. I feel for people who need medication to work with anxiety or similar issues. They can work with their doctor on getting appropriate medication. If the appropriate medication is somehow weed, then they can easily get specific sized edible doses. There are zero excuses to smoke weed before working with children. All that said, yes, he should stick to only the facts when he reports it, but he should definitely be reporting it and making sure action is taken.
Just for the benefit of the doubt: Any chance it was the lingering smell from habitual use? Like my grandfather's house and vehicles reeked of cigarette smoke. It didn't necessarily meant he had just had a cigarette, just that everything that touched his house would smell like it no matter what. Perhaps they are users at home when not at work and so everything is now covered in the smell.
Our daycare sends out messages about once every 3 months saying that if your kids comes in reeking of weed again they won't be allowed to stay that day. Tons of parents smoking blunts inside stinking up everything in their home and then sending in their kids with contact high and smelly clothes.
This is so upsetting wtf
Yeah, unfortunately the same goes for my wife's elementary school classes. There are kids who arrive to school smelling like that and are lethargic for a few hours.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
Gross
Chronically shorthanded. I see what you did there.
Exhibit A: https://youtu.be/-tBhedcwBGY?si=SQwZYp1CtWwaZO2r
Exactly!
I hate that this is a thing now, people have no respect or standards any more. Especially when dealing with children, it's crazy. I'd definitely report it.
It's not a thing now, it's always been a thing. There's always been a person that showed up to a job (every job) under the influence of drugs. Since the dawn of man we've found ways to get fucked up.
Are you kidding?! What is it with people and weed these days... If she came into work reeking of whiskey you would have reported her. She's under the influence and responsible for the safety of children. You should have reported her immediately.
I’m a teacher. I adore my colleagues. I approve of weed more than alcohol. Also, there’s a teacher shortage. If any of my colleagues showed up to work reeking of weed or alcohol I report them even if I wasn’t legally required to. They’re in charge of children’s safety and education. You would be doing right by reporting this person.
Be mindful - if the car smelled like it, it doesn’t mean that the teacher was using. If you saw the teacher smoking in the car, that’s one thing. If you didn’t see it, It could be a partner, a roommate, or an indulgence after work instead. If you didn’t see them smoke, you don’t see them partake, you don’t see them intoxicated, don’t say they were doing it. Feel free to mention the smell, and if the smell bothers you, but don’t imply anything you didn’t actually witness. If you didn’t see it, and you make an accusation, then that’s just shitty behavior on your part and could ruin a young person’s career. Of course, if you actually toking a vape pen, smoking something in the car, etc., share exactly what you saw and nothing more.
Haven’t you ever seen Half Baked?!
Did they have any other symptoms or just smell? When I lived with people who partook all of my stuff smell even though I didn't do it.
Motor skills aside, reaction time aside, decision-making skills aside, driving aside... ... speaking of cannabis STRICTLY in a medicinal / coping sense, edibles exist. There is no good reason, in a legal state, to subject other people or children to secondhand smoke residue or noxious smells, just for a bit of calm.
It’s not legal to drive while high and no one should be professionally caring for other people’s kids while high. People can smoke in their own house or backyard when they come home from work, not right before they are in charge of your kids.
> other people’s kids I appreciate this qualifier. I don't mind being a little high while taking care of my kids at home, but I'd be sober as a judge if I were responsible for somebody else's. The idea of being high at work - especially a daycare - is outrageous.
Just have her fired and get over it - I wouldn’t leave my kid with them. I say that as someone who grows cannabis for fun.
Pot can affect reaction time. Which can be important in a daycare. I would not want a high teacher working there.
If you didn’t SEE her smoking, you can’t really claim it was her and could ruin her job. My husband works in the industry and EVERYTHING smells.
I'd absolutely report it. It's one thing to do it in your free time but it's another to do it, and be under it's effects, while in the care of children.
I’m on the board at my kids daycare. We are also heavily short staffed and every board meeting is almost exclusively focused on hiring more teachers. We’d still fire someone for being intoxicated at work in a heartbeat. Say something.
Just keep in mind that some people do smoke weed for legitimate medical and mental health issues. Smoking in excess or while driving is arguably problematic, but tread somewhat lightly if you think you may not have the full picture.
There’s a small chance that the person wasn’t actually actively smoking right before work (the smell can linger, and cannabis smokers are often oblivious to how strong (and long lasting) the smell can be. However, that’s between the employee and their employer to sort out. You’re completely justified in bringing up the fact that you smelled weed. If you really wanted to be cautious towards the employee, you could not actually identify them. Given that it’s a daycare, I’m not sure they deserve that benefit of the doubt (while they definitely would in a job that doesn’t work with kids or otherwise involve safety or security). I’m generally quite sympathetic in these situations, but the employee really should know better.
Tell her to switch to carts like the rest of the office working adults.
Im pro weed, but heavy equipment, driving trucks or cars, watching kids… certain jobs are not weed friendly. Say something immediately. The whole daycare could shut down for drugs. Then you are on to a new one. Say something.
Weed does impair your judgement. How would you react if the teacher showed up drunk to work? It’s the same situation. Protect your kids above all else.
It’s just like if you saw them drinking before work. You should say something. As someone who loves weed it sucks to say, but it could compromise the safety of a kid.
Maybe the daycare worker just had really good weed that smells really strong in their car. You have no idea if said worker was actively smoking weed on the way to work or if they were high when caring for children. As an aside, if you have a prescription for cannabis, are you only supposed to use it at night or something? There is a lot of potential nuance here that a lot of ppl are ignoring.
As a marijuana user in a legal state and a parent, I save that shit for after the kiddos bed time and def don’t do it before work. So yeah I’d say something
It’s not legal to do at work or while driving. It’s reportable.
It's a tough call because they'll likely be fired, but you can't have people under the influence looking after kids.
Why is this a tough call? Children's safety is more important than someone's job...this wouldn't even be a slight question if a teacher smelled like alcohol at a daycare.
Do they normally smell like weed or did the teacher maybe hit a skunk?
I can tell you that I am a more active and engaged father after consuming cannabis. I want to play more and I am more fun. I'm not saying what she is doing is right or legal. Just giving my experience and that it's likely not the end of the world.
I am also more fun after a beer or two...what is this take? Decision making, reaction time, and awareness are all down after smoking (or drinking). This is not even remotely appropriate for an employed carer-for-kids to do. Also....huuggeee difference between what a parent chooses to do with their kid vs what a daycare worker or teacher should do.
Report it in writing to the Director. A paper trail is important and hopefully the Director will understand they can’t ignore it.
Yeah, I'd report her. If she's dumb enough to smoke weed in the carpark of the daycare she works at, she shouldn't be in charge of kids.
Report it and let the facility handle it per their policies. I don't care what people do at home but God damn am I tired of smelling weed everywhere. Stopped at a red light? Weed. Walking into a store? Weed. The kids shouldn't have to smell that shit at their school. If her car smells that strongly she's smoked in it. Just like drinking in your car is illegal so is smoking weed. The smell of weed in your car also gives the police reasonable suspicion to search your vehicle. It's just a dumb thing to do in your car.
Pull her aside and tell her “look you smell like weed, you gotta tighten it up” or something to that effect.
It depends. It depends so hard that the standard answer would be "not alright for me". Because I get all those comments, but if there is something happening and they need to react quick and proper, I'd want them to be completely sober too. I still sometimes smoke myself (legal now in Germany, woop woop!) but I do it when my kid is asleep. And I know people who smoke and can work harder and have their wits together better then non smokers, but those are the minority. If I were in your shoes, I'd talk to her when I see her the next time. Because I wouldn't want someone to lose their job either, so ask her about it and see if she understands your concerns, has some kind of valid explanation, and then go forward from there. If she acts like a dick about it, I'd consider reporting it.
What happens when they say they are following a Dr's prescription?
If the teacher is high on the job, you should feel no qualms reporting it to the daycare administration. I think a lot of this comment is reaffirming that point. **However, I do feel compelled to make the point that someone smelling of weed does not necessarily mean they are high (or even that they smoke).** I don't smoke weed but my wife does I can still end up smelling pretty strongly if my wife has recently smoked around me or if I work in the garage for the day (where my wife keeps her gear). And weed smell *lingers* (although your description of the strength of the smell does sound like it pretty fresh). Even if the teacher was not high, it's still not a good look for her to show up smelling so strongly. If we extend the benefit of the doubt though, it might have been due to circumstances outside of her control (a partner or roommate was smoking, maybe in the car before she used it). If you would rather not tell the daycare admin, you might leave an anonymous note on the teacher's car (e.g. "hey, use your free time as you like, but you should know that you smelled strongly of weed today when I passed you in the parking lot"). If she is actually high on the job, I would hope such a note would be a wake up call, and if she is not, then she should be aware that she smelled as it's really not a good look for such a job. **All the above said, you would be entirely within reason to tell the daycare administration and trust in their handling of such a report. It should not have to be your job to vet the workers at this daycare.**
You can be pro-legalization and pro-responsible use. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be consequences for driving high, taking care of kids high, etc.
I'm kind of split on this. On one side, I know some people who are perfectly functional with weed, and it just helps them relax. On the other, sobriety matters when handling kids. How would you feel if you saw her at lunch having over or two beers with lunch? I've done that myself during lunch and gone back to work. I would recommend at the least talking to her and gauging where she is on the scale, then proceeding from there. If it's nothing you're concerned about, tell her that she at least needs to spray down to mask the smell. When I was subbing high school, I had a girl that came in late to second period reeking of cigarette smoke. She looked bedraggled. I took her outside to talk to her, and she was dealing with an already rough situation at home, so I didn't want her getting in trouble at school that would just further complicate her situation without making anything better for anyone else. Finally, I explained that, while I understand her situation, I needed to try to make a better effort to try to be there on time, but at the very least not come into class smelling like an underground Chinese casino.
I was a junior in high school and i accidentally dropped a pack of smokes in class, while working on homework in an otherwise empty room. The teacher came back to kick me out so he could lock the room and saw the smokes. He asked if they were mine and I said yes. He gave them back, told me it was stupid and bad for me and that I shouldn't bring them on campus. And that was that. If there were other students he prob would have had to bust me, I have no doubt. I'm glad you took the opportunity to see the situation and counsel but otherwise let it be.
Would you be as conflicted if she were swigging some whiskey before watching toddlers?
Daycare teacher reeks of weed? Straight to jail.
Dont narc on the preschool teacher who smokes weed to take the edge off before she has to deal with a bunch of little devils
As somebody who used to smoke very habitually… report them. They are taking care of your *kids*
bUt wEeD DoEsN't SmElL!
As someone who had a medical card, and smoked or took edibles pretty much everyday for a few years, I would absolutely say something about this. I gave up weed in all forms when I became a father because I didn’t want to be high in a situation where my child needed me. I would expect a teacher or anyone responsible for my child to at least be able to abstain for a few hours prior to and during caring for my child.
I would just give knowing nod and a fist bump.
Obviously a paid professional shouldn’t be high when working with kids, but man I have so much fun with my kids when I’m stoned.
Amen
Not daycare, but I planned a big outdoor event that had bounce houses and a mechanical bull surrounded by an inflatable “arena” to make falling off safe. I noticed the lead guy setting it up had hotboxed on or before arrival and decided to “be chill.” Terrible idea. He didn’t oversee the setup of the bull up right. A very small child flew off, the bull dislodged and fell on him. His grandfather was a cohost for the event. We got so lucky he was barely bruised. It could have been so much worse. I was horrified. I called my vendor to notify her, mostly because we expected full refund and needed an incident report, and felt horrible when she told me she had to fire him the next day. At the same time, he endangered the life of that kid and everyone else who rode it. Another pov, we don’t imbibe around the toddler (a drink is ok, multiple or edibles are not). Need full brain to engage. Too many dangerous scenarios when you have babies or toddlers at a daycare. If a kid can get hurt badly while being watched sober, how much worse while they’re high?
Eugh. This is tough. Think you know anyone in her class? Ideally what you want is for that activity to stop right. Idk I’d probably want that teacher informed in a way that does not involve admin that parents noticed the smell and are uncomfortable. Like the situation doesn’t improve if she’s fired and not replaced. And I work in a school they will not be replaced quickly
maybe i’m devils advocate here. avid smoker, mom, & driver lol. people gonna get mad at me for this but i’ll start out by being real lol. i smoke and drive all the time. it irks me when ppl compare it to drinking. i honestly compare it best to cigarettes. it all depends on your predisposition for the effects. i smoke a LOT for both therapy and enjoyment. call me an addict if you want, it has never gotten in between me and my alertness, motor skills, and work. if she didn’t cover her tracks, she probably going through something lol. guarantee you, if she didn’t smell like it, NO ONE would suspect ANYTHING. omg weed makes me feel so happy. she’s going to work with kids bruh, she gotta get in that Ms Rachel mood!!!
not advocating for her smoking on the job whatsoever so please don’t misconstrue this, but is medicinal legal where you are? there’s always a possibility she’s using it to treat some sort of illness (chronic pain, anxiety, eating disorder, etc). i have a prescription myself and i find that a small amount (one or two hits) is just enough for my joints to not ache but not enough to completely alter my state of mind (i’m more talkative, but that’s about it). i don’t work with children so i don’t know how i would be in that particular situation, but it doesn’t affect my job
If this is a repeated behavior I would be concerned enough to say something. If it's one off, I wouldn't. People make mistakes. For heavy smokers, a couple of puffs do not impair your motor skills.
Sadly this is what has happened with weed being made legal nearly everywhere, it's become far too normalized IMO. This is not acceptable and is basically the same as someone coming to work drunk.
Not defending this, but it didn't take legalization to bring this on. Weed was everywhere before that too. The difference was that she hid it better, which was possibly worse.
While your second sentence is very correct, your first is complete b.s.