Is it wrong?

[m.nursestudent]

Hey everyone,

So im a 20 year old nursing student who smokes marijuana recreationally.

I have maintained a 4.0 in the program I am in. I get excellent comments from my clinical instructors/staff nurses on site. I smoke on the weekends, do not drink, never 'popped' a pill, or have used 'hard' drugs, and yet I'm a 'pot head'.

I understand what it takes to be a nurse, and plan on getting 'clean' within a month or two, and that will be it for my marijuana use.

I have to say, from time to time I feel guilty for smoking pot while doing patient care-all though I feel fully capable of doing procedure's, and honestly would rather me do it, than some of my fellow non-smoking classmates.

So...what is your opinion?

*side note: I have never/will never come to school or a facility high. It pops into my mind some times when I'm on site, that I smoke marijuana, and feel guilty for it.

[GilaRRT]

Unfortunately, the drug debate involves more than just ourselves. This is not something that occurs in a vacuum. Somebody has to grow the drug, harvest the drug, package and prepare the drug, smuggle the drug, sell the drug, and buy the drug. We often say smoking pot is a "soft" crime and does not hurt people. This is total bollocks!

Ever see what happens to rival smugglers or drug cartels? Or, what about the dirt poor people who backpack the marijuana into the US? People who smoke pot are part of a much bigger cycle of violence. While they do not directly "hurt" people, the purchasing of this drug ultimately fuels this cycle. Therefore, these people have the blood of other people on their hands. Food for thought guys.

In addition, smoking pot has nothing to do with getting medications to my dying mom.

However, the crux of this thread is still the fact that doing pot is illegal.

[Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN]

Are you self-medicating by chance?

[pers]

It's illegal. Personally, I'd just as soon it not be as I put it on par with ETOH.

You aren't the first, nor the last, nursing student to use MJ. It's a risk but unless you show up to class/clinicals high or your school uses random drug testing it's likely quite small. Just be aware that if you get caught, even on your own time, it may end your chance to complete your education and/or get a license. While the risk itself may be low, the consequences are high (no pun intended).

[PeachPie]

While I think that MJ should be legalized, I think that there is a time that people need to quit doing drugs, as they become a hindrance rather than harmless recreation.

My ex (whom I refer to as a metaphorical equivalent of a report card full of D minuses) stayed with his hated job, forgoing all promotions and better options, because he wanted to continue to smoke weed. Anything else would have required drug testing. While it was okay during his rock band and dead-end job years, he became a loser who was severely limiting his potential in his career and life.

It's time for you to put down the bong for good. Get it out of your system. Pray that they don't follicle test you in the hot period.

[soulofme]

If I were King of the Forest, I'd legalize it!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I think there's another looooooooong thread about this that went on and on and on.

It doesn't matter whatsoever what my opinion is or isn't about how harmful mj is and whether or not I think it should be legalized. That point is entirely moot because it's the opinion of the State of Florida Board of Nursing that overrules any opinion I might have.

Bottom line it is illegal and when you're busted.......and trust me on this sooner or later you will be busted in a drug screen somewhere-sometime....your career will be in jeopardy because it's illegal. You won't go to jail and do hard time, but you'll be reported to the Board of Nursing and your life will be hell. Or if you're busted while in school, then you'll simply be kicked out and your desire to be a nurse will never happen.

So regardless of how harmless I think an occasional joint is, I'm not willing to risk my entire career on getting a moment of getting high for recreation.

There's far too many good ways to have fun.

I don't think you should either. You can justify it any way you choose, that it's harmless, that your patients aren't in danger, that you don't go to work/school high, that it should be legal as it's no worse than alchohol, blah blah blah.....you'll be telling it to the Board of Nursing and they will slam the book at you...end of discussion. Trust me on this...they are unbending and merciless. You probably won't loose your license, or even your job. You'll be referred to treatment, maybe be subjected to random drug screens for a year, go to meetings once a week for a year, be disciplined somehow and for the rest of your life when someone looks your license up (and it's there for all employers to see, and they look once a year to make sure it's valid) they will see that you've been disciplined and you will forever have to explain yourself.

[onetiredmomma]

You know its wrong otherwise you wouldn't come here looking for someone to back you up

[RNperdiem, RN]

Time to find a new hobby.

[eldragon]

In the nursing program I attended, we had a mandatory drug test at the beginning of each block. Yes, students failed the test and were eliminated from the program.

You won't make it through the nursing program with marijuana in your system. And since you are only 20 and pot is supposed to be a drug that leads to other drugs, I'm pretty sure no employer is going to want to hire you to work anywhere near the narc box.

It's not up to you to decide whether it's right or wrong to smoke pot while being a nurse, because you will never get that far if you don't quit.