How Not to Smell Like Weed at Work After Smoking

Ah, the smell of weed.

It’s that beautiful scent that you can whiff over a mile away.

However, that ever-familiar scent that makes you smile is the same smell that gets you bugged out that your spot is about to get blown up.

You can’t hide the smell of cannabis.

We all know it when we smell it.

And while you can own the fact we smell like pot, in some places it’s still illegal or at least frowned upon to be smelling like cannabis at work!

If you want to sneak those extra smoke sessions in throughout the day, you need to learn how not to smell like weed—so, keep reading.

Smell is Medicine

It’s such a shame to want to mask the scent of such a beautiful smell as marijuana.

Unfortunately for some people, their job, standing with friends and family, or perhaps even a run in with the law can all go sour when the lingering aroma of cannabis rats them out.

While the smell of cannabis is rather potent, it’s the molecules behind its scent that are also behind the medical part of medical marijuana.

What are Terpenes?

The reason that pot's scent is the power behind medical marijuana is that the molecules behind weed's distinct scent are chemical compound called terpenes.

All plants have terpenes.

These are aromatic chemicals that were grown over time by all plant species surviving on the planet today to keep their predators at bay.

This is why each plant has such a distinct scent.

Different pests are repelled by different smells and attracted to different tastes.

The Power of Terpenes

Within these terpenes are not only succulent scents but healing compounds.

Think in terms of essential oils.

You use diffused lavender essential oils because the smell relaxes your otherwise anxious central nervous system and helps you go to sleep.

When the aromatic compounds that we smell from marijuana interact with cannabinoid receptors inside our body as we inhale the weed, it creates the healing needed to treat ailments of medical marijuana patients.

The Smell and the Law

While medical marijuana is growing in popularity across the United States, recreational marijuana has been a slow roll out.

If you are going to puff in public and run the risk of getting caught, you better have your medical marijuana card if you are in an area where recreational marijuana is not allowed.

Even if you're in an area where recreational cannabis is legal, you are still not allowed to smoke outdoors.

Census across the board is that cannabis must be enjoyed in establishments licensed to serve it or in the privacy of your own home.

Just like many places don’t allow you to walk around with an open container full of liquor (although many cities actually do allow this), you can’t walk around among the public smoking pot as you please.

If you are caught doing so, there may be a punishment that can range anywhere from a fine to jail time.

Lastly, cannabis is still federally illegal.

So, in some areas, you may be facing additional punishment.

That means even if you are in a legal state, don’t let them smell you smoking on federal property such as a post office or school zone.    

How Not to Smell Like Weed

After you smoke weed, it’s kind of not hard not to smell like it.

This is especially true if you are smoking a blunt or a joint.

So, how do you toke up and go about your day without any trace of pot on you?

Let’s take a look at how to not smell like weed.

Don’t Look High

Looking the part makes you smell like the part.

If you have nothing else going for you and you just wreak like pot, at least put some eye drops in.

Having bloodshot eyes will only give away the person who is stinking up the grocery store aisles.

When people see that you’re high, they’ll naturally sniff harder.

They will try to smell your weed if only to justify their beliefs.

So, if you are self-conscious about how you smell, you should also worry about how your eyes look too.

Smoke a Vape Pen

The most discreet way of smoking cannabis without leaving behind a scented trace is to invest in a vape pen and smoke some concentrates.

Cannabis oils have little to no scent.

What's even greater is that most of the cartridges have a marijuana flavor to their oils.

So, you are getting the high and the taste without the smell.

Also, vaping e-liquids has become so widely accepted among society.

In fact, many people are allowed to puff away on their handheld piece in many indoor public places.

Therefore, if you are toking away on your vape filled with cannabis, not a single soul would know.

Take an Edible

Here’s a no-brainer, if you don’t want to smell like cannabis smoke, then don't light it on fire.

Instead, bake it in a tasty treat and eat it.

Edibles are great, especially for cannabis beginners.

Thanks to the connotation created by cigarettes, a lot of people are still turned off at the thought of smoking. 

They don’t have an open mind to marijuana because the activity seems one in the same as the dirty habit nicotine is.

Due to this close-minded point-of-view, they have missed out on the advent of medical marijuana.

Luckily, edibles have come a long way in debunking the stigma surrounding marijuana.

Without leaving a scent trace behind, but gives you all the benefits, edibles are a safe way to ensure that you will not smell like weed... when you shouldn't!

Eat a Meal

If you are going somewhere in a bit and smell like marijuana, stop somewhere and eat first.

Our clothes are like sponges and soak up the scents of everything we come into contact with.

Stroll up into a restaurant and order something nice and hot.

When the food arrives, sit over the steam that is radiating from the bowl. Not only will this save you from burning your mouth, but it will mask the smell of weed.

So, if you get a hot bowl of udon noodles, you will smell like ramen at the family party instead of ganja.

Go in a Walk-in Freezer

If you’re truly in a pinch and don’t want to smell like weed, go into a walk-in freezer.

The temps will kill off all the odors that permeating from you.

However, you have to be able to stay in cold temperatures for a bit.

Plus, walk-in freezer aren’t readily available.

Alright, so this is just handy if you smoke while working at a fast food restaurant—not that we condone that behavior 🙂

Smoke Shirtless

If you’re outdoors and smoking and don’t want to smell a half hour later, go all natural.

When you smoke without a shirt on, you don’t run the risk of getting the smoke on you.

Each time you inhale, you can’t pull all the smoke coming from the bowl mouthpiece or the end of the blunt.

So, smoke will leak out and attach itself to what's closest to your level—your shirt.

Take your shirt off, toke up, and put that smokeless bad boy back on.

Put on Lotion

Whether you are holding a sticky roach or pumping away at a carb hole with your thumb, your hand is going to pick up the smell of smoke.

The best way to mask this is to throw some fragrance on it.

Putting on lotion may neutralize the weed scent.

However, it can also make it worse.

If you get an over exaggerated lotion scent like some of those Victoria’s Secret candy-smelling ones, you may actually draw more attention to you.

After noticing the tasty scent, non-smokers will pinpoint that hint of smoke and put two-and-two together.

Use Hand Sanitizer

Want to get rid of the smell of marijuana?

Just kill it off!

Hand sanitizer is great for neutralizing scents because its own smell is so strong.

If anyone applies hand sanitizer before walking into a room, everyone in that room will smell the hand sanitizer above anything else.

So if you want to cut their nose off at the pass from sniffing you out, snuff out their nasal cavities with hand sanitizer.

Listerine

The part of us that smells the most like weed when we smoke is a big shocker...our mouth.

If we forget to clean that thing up a little while after a smoke session, our porous tongue will start soaking up all that leftover tar and smoke.

Therefore, we start to collect soot like an ashtray.

Tending to this buildup will go a long way in not smelling like weed.

Be Careful of Where You Stash Weed

Sometimes you haven't even smoked the weed yet, and you smell like it.

There are many ways you can carry weed on you and mask the scent.

Multiple cannabis companies make scent-proof carrying case.

They come in a litany of shapes and designs that are you bound to find one that fits your particular needs.

Don’t Store Your Weed with Your Clothes

Always keep in mind that fabrics are sponges.

If you are keeping your weed stash in your closet where all your clothes are hanging, your threads are going to pick up the dank scent.

Even if you haven’t smoked, if you put those clothes on, non-smokers will get a hint of your favorite pastime from the wind bouncing off the threads on your back.

Conclusion

If you don't want people to know that you've been smoking cannabis, you're in luck.

There are a few tried and true ways on how not to smell like weed.

• Stick to edibles and vape pens
• Take off your shirt while you're smoke
• Wash your hands and teeth afterwards

These are just a few ways available to you.

There are even products like the Smoke Buddy or blowing your smoke through a paper towel tube stuffed with dryer sheets!

How do you avoid smelling like cannabis?

If you really don't want to smell like weed, click here to check out our guide on air fresheners for weed.