Pot Smoking On The Job

[Digby]

As a fishing Captain that has to share the ocean with many other fishing captains here in Nova Scotia im getting a little concerned with the amount of pot and other drugs being used on fishing boats while in the process of fishing opperations .

I estamated that 50% of Nova Scotias fishermen(guessing) now days worked in a stoned state . When asking other fishermen i was told i was low in my estaments its more like 80% work in a stoned state .

Some vessels have a bag a pot along side the Compass and if they run out the vessel will return to port , they will not fish with out it .I here some vessels are doing many ounces a week while fishing.

The Nova Scotia department of Labour seems to either be ignorant to this(but i do think they know about it), Or else just don't care . They are the department responsible for keeping work places safe .

I expermented with pot when i was a teen ager And I got completely disorinted . I could not drive a car . I was parinoid . Now i been a fishing Captain 21 years and i know the dangers , storms at sea , Ice , wenches and machinery , marine traffic . And they tell me the Pot of today is 10 times as powerfull as the stuff i expermited with over 20 years ago .

To me it acts like the department of Labour is remaining blind of Purpose to this major problem in our industry now days .

Even in places where Pot has become leagal its kept out of the work place . But here in Nova Scotia i now beleave we lead the world in Stoned fisherman . Some are smoking highly potent pot like cigerettes while opperating their vessels and lives are at risk.

Should the department of Labour here be stoping this ? Or should we all light up and smoke pot on the job?

[PocketRocket]

  I estamated that 50% of Nova Scotias  fishermen(guessing) now  days  worked in a stoned state . 

California???

When asking other fishermen  i was told  i was  low in my estaments its more like  80%  work  in a stoned state . 

Maine??? C'mon, tell me. Where is this stoned state??? I wanna visit.(Sorry, I couldn't resist)

  And they tell me the Pot  of today is 10 times as powerfull  as the stuff i expermited with  over 20 years ago .

This is hyperbole. There is, of course, some very potent weed out there. There is also some really lame grass.

The same can be said of 20 years ago. I smoke now, I smoked then (not on the job, of course). I remember back then, if you wanted some killer weed, you paid more money, depending, of course, on availability. Often you would get burned on a deal and get lame crap.

The same can be said today. I have purchased total crap in the past few years. I have also come across some wicked stuff.

It's really luck of the draw.

Should the department of Labour here be stoping this ? Or should  we all light up  and  smoke pot on the job? 

That depends. How much more tax money is everyone willing to pay so that the Dept of Labour can put inspectors out on boats to check out all the fishermen every day??? Personally, I think we get taxed enough.

Now I'll probably get flamed for this, but as a long-time user, I can say something from experience.

The more you smoke, the less stoned you get. If you use pot on a daily basis, all day long, you barely get buzzed. Your body builds a tolerance to weed very quickly. So these "stoned" fishermen may not be "stoned" at all. They may simply be maintaining a mild buzz. In fact, if they're using as much as you claim, and as regularly as you say, they might not even be getting buzzed.

Now I do not condone using any sort of drug or alcohol in the workplace, and this post is not meant to be justification for doing so.

This is simply meant as information.

[WageSlave]

You might want to look up some statistics on whether or not the ports are actually more dangerous now days, before you go worrying about everyone else's habbits.

Aswell, considdering you were an experimental smoker, wouldn't you agree that it is rather unwise to compare your experiences with those of habitual smokers?

[Black Dog]

The idea that pot today is much stronger than weed of the past is another drug warrior myth.

The myth of potent pot.

[Digby]

In California there was alot of Speed abuse . I never seen any pot there . But speed was used by alot in the fishing fleet as well as others in the port area.

I fished in maine before and I never seen any drugs on their fishing boats .They had very strict laws against it . I think it was a 0 tolerance policy . If any drugs or alcohol was found on a fishing boat i think the boat was siezed if i remember right.

New brunswick was not too bad from my experience ,spent 2 winters there and never seen any drug use on boats .

The off shore Companies here in nova scotia have drug testing and i think they have 0 drug use on fishing vessels . Also some native bands have drug testing on their boats and i think they also have 0 drug use on their boats.

But the Inshore fleets and mid shore in my opinion have at least 50% of the people working and smoking pot , or other drugs while in fishing operations . I don't think any body even trys to stop it .

I don't know maybe its not dangerous ,im just going by what i remember it done to me . And knowing the decisions fishermen are faced with on the job to keep themselfs alive . I just figure its Dangerous .

I have had crews aboard that smoked it like cigerettes ,even with me trying to control it .And i found they could not stay awake like non users . When it came to extreemly long days you could never get them out of the bunk .I also found they had severe personality problems . Nicest guy you ever met , too very ugly guy wanting to fight with every body . all acording to amount of pot they could get in them.

I try to control it , but sometimes i think its hopeless .They go out on deck when im not looking . Or even on top the wheelhouse .

Alot of crews won't fish on a boat that trys to control pot smoking.

Some vessels the whole crew smokes it from daylight to dark . and even all night .Some say they can't work without it .

Not alot of hard drugs on fishing boats in my opinion ,But there is some i hear. I even hear some Cocaine dealers ,deal on the warfe and take scallops instead of money. Usally they get good measure of scallops so make extra profit .

In my opinion the department of Labour is turning their back on drug use on fishing vessels .

[Jim1989]

Well its illegal but hey if they don't find out.

[caesar]

i been a fishing Captain 21 years and i know the dangers , storms at sea , Ice , wenches and machinery , marine traffic .

Wenches???????? Is this post a joke.

If this is an honest post and you got disoriented and paranoid as a teenager trying pot; you should be more careful with your source; that sounds more like junk dusted with angel dust or something

[Digby]

I talked to lots of people that have had severe affects from pot trials .

One guy here (an older man)smoked a bunch down the shore with some young guys .When he drove his truck home it scarred him so bad that when stopping at stop signs he would stop his engine and put his keys in his pocket at every stop sign while waiting for traffic. This guy said he would rather drink a quart of rum and drive any day.

Some people do get severe affects from pot ,i was one of them. Thats why I have gone over 20 years without touching it.

Ill admit that some do seem like it hardly affects them even when smoking a bag every 2-3 days.

Some people can hold alot of alcohol before it affects them much also. Alot of people arounf here could drink a pint of rum and you would never know they have had a drink.

My point is it seems like the goverment don't care about drugs being used on fishing boats .

Its like they have made a place for drug addicts to work to keep them from crime.

You can't get decent non pot smokeing men on inshore and midshore boats because of the ITQ quota system robbing most of their pay checks . 1/2 the value of a fish has to be paid to a rich guy setting ashore before you can catch it . Im now buying a trawler with a partner ,we will have to fish cod fish for 50 cents a lb . my longliner can get 1.40 to 1.60 for cod (but can't catch any in a trawler dominated fishery). The trawler will have to pay 200,000 to 300,000 dollars a year in quota fees to rich men setting ashore a year .

In the scallop fishing .the first 2.00 a lb goes to men setting ashore . One man owns 20 ITQ scallop quotas . he has these leased to 10 boats if each of these boats catch 5000 lb a week . he makes 10,000 dollars a week of each boat so his income is 100,000 dollars a week and he don't even have to go out door to earn it .Men like this usally never fished a day in their lives.

But so much is paid to these ITQ holders that decent livings is a thing of the past for fishing crews . They are almost modern day slaves . So usally all that shows on fishing boats is drug addicts that most industrys don't want.

These ITQ owners are very rich men about 20-30 men own the majority of our fishing rights (accept lobster) ,i Beleave they get the goverment to turn their backs on the drug use on the fishing boats so they can keep their incredible incomes rolling in with the use of modern day slaves . The drugs make these men need to go to work bad enough that they will go even if they know they are modern day slaves.

This rich ITQ holders do have a problem though with Scallops being sold for cash out side the system .So goverment will have to come address this problem for their rich buddies . They won't stop the drugs , but they will stop people getting drugs by selling outside the system.