Nurses who smoke marijuana

Nurses General Nursing

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I believe it is no employers business with what I do after work OFF duty. I have the right to smoke a joint if I want to. I'm a responsible adult MJ smoker and would never come into work stoned. Ever. I don't do any other drugs, drink alcohol, or smoke cigarettes. I do a great job, love my patients, always arrive to work on time, do what I'm supposed to do as a health professional.

Testing positive for a drug does not suggest impairment. I think we can all agree on that fact.

Tip for other MJ smokers:

From what I understand it is better to refuse to take a drug test knowing you will test positive than actually take the test; because your license could be revoked.

Drug testing is a clear violation of our 4th amendment rights.

Am I for drug tests? Absolutely. Pre-employment and poor job performance. Random? No way.:banghead:

Specializes in LTC.

People have the "right" to do a lot of things, but with rights also comes the occassional consequence.

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Spidey's Mom, I'm from an area with a lot of drug use, and my career has exposed me to a lot of drug use, and I say this with all sincerity: what you are describing does not sound like *just* marijuana use. I strongly suspect there is mental illness, other drugs, or a combination thereof. I hope he seeks help. :)

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I appreciate your response.

However, I haven't told ya everything. Hard to make a diagnosis without more info.

It isn't mental illness. And he drinks alcohol too. But the pot is what makes him not able to think clearly and safely when he shows up at work at 4 a.m. after smoking pot.

Regardless, this isn't part of the argument. So, I'll stop talking about it.

steph

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14 pages on one thread in one day? ha! i expected to log on here and here some floyd playing, lights out low and the room to be smoky, lol

Marijuana threads are always like this . . . . :smokin:

steph

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However, I haven't told ya everything. Hard to make a diagnosis without more info.

It isn't mental illness. And he drinks alcohol too. But the pot is what makes him not able to think clearly and safely when he shows up at work at 4 a.m. after smoking pot.

Regardless, this isn't part of the argument. So, I'll stop talking about it.

steph

you're right, in that it is hard to make a dx w/o more info.

with that said, it's rather misleading to describe a set of behaviors and attempt to relate it to mj, which is what your posts implied.

even with alcohol in the mix, that explains a lot.

leslie

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I'm glad they drug test. Wish they did more. People high on MJ are in no shape to make decisions about Micky-Ds or 7-11 much less life saving ones. I don't care that you do it on off days it's illegal. Complaining about whether it should be illegal is pointless. It's illegal until it's legal. So you are breaking the law.

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Specializes in dialysis (mostly) some L&D, Rehab/LTC.
I appreciate your response.

However, I haven't told ya everything. Hard to make a diagnosis without more info.

It isn't mental illness. And he drinks alcohol too. But the pot is what makes him not able to think clearly and safely when he shows up at work at 4 a.m. after smoking pot.

Regardless, this isn't part of the argument. So, I'll stop talking about it.

steph

BINGO!!!! I was not going to do the ETOH...but...that's the nail in the coffin...been there done that...this is another thread...geez...I've lost count of my...counts...LOL...I would say that is the main problem..then the MJ...he's young and he isn't about to change for any1...God lQQk out for his life...*

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Specializes in Rehab, Infection, LTC.
Marijuana threads are always like this . . . . :smokin:

steph

i had no idea you guys were so wild :saint:

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FYI, the OP is not a nurse. Check it out on his profile and previous posts. He's been yanking chains. Hey, if he wants to quit jobs rather than do a drug test, OK. We can get CNAs a lot easier than nurses.

What flames me is the title "Nurses" who smoke...

Does he have any input about real nurses?

Discussions about pot always end the same way. Compare to alcohol, what's done at home, etc.

I don't smoke it, but even if I did, I know that there are lurkers who are salivating at these posts. Life is too short to spend on arguments that have no winners. Unless you want to politicize it, this is an endless argument that has no winners that I can see.

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Specializes in Acute Care of the Elderly.

Back in the day I hung out with the Cheech & Chong crowd. I have always believed that if people could see themselves as others do when they are high then they wouldn't get high anymore. :no:

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You keep pulling the "illegal" card but I can safely say that most people constantly break the law, including you. How often do people jaywalk, speed (even if it's 1 km over the speed limit), drink underage, commit traffic violations, download movies/music without paying, litter, don't wear a seat belt, use fireworks, don't report extra income, blah blah blah, I could go on and on.

Please don't act like a martyr; your self-righteous attitude in this thread is getting kind of tiresome.

If nurses want to smoke MJ, it's their prerogative, as long as they're not impaired while working, then what is it to you? People indulge in behaviours that have more negative effects than pot smoking, like drinking (an obvious one) and smoking (cancer, anyone?).

Oh and to the person who said it's hypocritical to promote health to a patient if you're an MJ smoker... how many times has someone educated an obese diabetic patient about the adverse effects of eating junk food high in carbs, and then went and ate a donut? or how about all the nurses who smoke and educate clients on the effects of tobacco?

Just because you indulge in some of this "less than desirable" behaviour, it does not make you a bad nurse.

We're all human, no one is perfect

Excuse me, just because YOU indulge in the above said behaviour, don't put that on the rest of us! I really hate the 'shame the hypocrite back' attitude. I have my own issues (doesn't everyone?) but you are quite mistaken in assigning blame and broken laws to other people. You might have drunk underage; I did not. You might not care about seatbelts; I've cared for what was left after being ejected from the car by no seatbelts. You may download movies; I pay for mine. And before everyone gets all riled up about me being self-righteous, settle down, I'm not. I've just made the choices to be as responsible as possible, I handle people's lives, don't you want me to take yours into my hands with the same amount of care and respect? But I also am not making choices that will seriously impinge on other people's rights or, more importantly, safety. And that's what it comes down to, you know. You may have a 'right' to do things you want to do, but it really stops being a right if it threatens my health/safety, or, more importantly, my childrens', and then, well, momma bear comes unleashed. And I agree with some of the other posters, you can be considered impaired and under the influence of something even if you have a prescription for it. I don't normally get all fired up, must be the full moon.

One last thing: IT'S ILLEGAL!!!! Complaining about it won't change that, but can land you without a get-out-of-jail card and no dice to roll, not to say anything about losing your license.

EDIT: I'm going over to the Humor forum now. Sheesh!

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Specializes in Med Surg, LTC, Home Health.
My brother did weed which led to other drugs which led to PRISON and it destroyed my family and I lost a brother.

The University of Pittsburgh ran a study that proved marijuana is not a "gateway" drug. "Weed" didnt destroy your family, the "war on drugs" did. Other countries spend their tax dollars sending drug abusers to rehab, not prison. If our country had the insight to do this, your brother could be home already.

How does a professional nurse disobey the law and still be professional?

Disobey "the law" or the law you agree with? We all break the law at one time or another. If we dont have the principles to obey the speed limit, despite the very good reasons for such a law (such as the safety of those around us), then why is that not equal? You argued that the difference between ETOH and marijuana was the legality. If that were it, then it would seem that all laws have their merit, and we should not discriminate from one to the next. If one nurse smokes pot and another runs a stop sign, then they are both unprofessional.

My point in that story is that the law in California was simply passed to allow people to smoke pot for no other reason than to get high.

There is definitely some truthiness to that.

I don't however agree with equating using a mind-altering substance illegally to downloading music and jaywalking or even speeding.

Speeders disobey the law. If my father had been killed by a speeder doing 74 in a 55, then i might feel that breaking the speed limit is more dangerous than someone smoking marijuana in the privacy of their home. Certainly the speeder has a higher risk of hurting others.:)

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This thread is interesting. Think I will take an MD prescribed relaxant and sit back and enjoy.

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