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:

You're missing the point, I think.

I agree.

POT IS ILLEGAL.

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

Getting high from pot, in my opinion, is not a risk I'm willing to take in relation to my patients and my license.

And the fact that you are, shows immaturity, lack of good judgment and a self-centered "me first" attitude.

"I want what I want when I want it" . . . .like a 2 year old, :D

steph

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I have.

steph

i wouldn't be surprised to learn of auto accidents r/t being high on pot.

i do think it impairs your judgment.

but, i've never known for pot to make someone violent:

unless it was taken w/etoh, or laced w/something.

typically, pot is a mellowing agent.

leslie

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And the fact that you are, shows immaturity, lack of good judgment and a self-centered "me first" attitude.

"I want what I want when I want it" . . . .like a 2 year old, :D

steph

wow.

what did you put in your coffee today??

and then to follow these remarks with a big smilie?

just, wow.

leslie:stone

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wow.

what did you put in your coffee today??

and then to follow these remarks with a big smilie?

just, wow.

leslie:stone

:D

Edited to add . . . . . illegal drug use is a pet peeve of mine which I've disclosed so it should be no surprise.

The kid who we hired because he was a friend almost killed himself and may have hurt someone else because of his mj use.

A "professional" nurse comes on allnurses and preaches on about how he/she smokes pot (which is illegal right now) and doesn't believe in random drug tests and encourages nurse to be unprofessional . . . . sorta sticks in my craw Les.

And the op seems strong enough to withstand a few comments about being immature, unprofessional and acting self-centered.:D

steph

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Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

while i don't smoke pot currently (i quit 3 years ago) , i would be lying if i said that i haven't in the past. i used it to mellow out. it changes your perception of pain.

while i don't totally agree with the OP, and yes i know marijuana is illegal, i see his point. i think as long as you use it outside of work and are not impaired at work, i don't see the problem with nurses smoking weed. it's really not any different than nurses going out and getting drunk on their days off. and for those of you who say "i don't do that", theres 5 more nurses who do.

and to contest the statement about it impairing driving, i ask you this.... who drives better, someone who just smoked a little mj, or a nurse who worked 16 hours on her feet with no break and 3 hours of sleep?

i would much rather deal with a pot head than an alcoholic, anyday.

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while i don't smoke pot currently (i quit 3 years ago) , i would be lying if i said that i haven't in the past. i used it to mellow out. it changes your perception of pain.

while i don't totally agree with the OP, and yes i know marijuana is illegal, i see his point. i think as long as you use it outside of work and are not impaired at work, i don't see the problem with nurses smoking weed. it's really not any different than nurses going out and getting drunk on their days off. and for those of you who say "i don't do that", theres 5 more nurses who do.

and to contest the statement about it impairing driving, i ask you this.... who drives better, someone who just smoked a little mj, or a nurse who worked 16 hours on her feet with no break and 3 hours of sleep?

i would much rather deal with a pot head than an alcoholic, anyday.

Hi Allison - I don't think getting drunk is necessarily a smart thing to do but it is legal (as long as you are not driving and I had a MADD bumper sticker on my KIA). So, the argument is different when it comes to pot.

I would not want to deal with a person under the influence of mj driving or someone sleep impaired. They both put others at risk.

I'm 51 . . . . .my past includes an ex-husband who was a regular pot smoker and I'm an ER nurse who sees many impaired folks come through the door.

Still, why would a professional nurse put his/her license at risk just to have a little fun?

Our patients, our jobs should have priority over a little self-indulgence.

steph

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i would much rather deal with a pot head than an alcoholic, anyday.

I wouldn't want to deal with either. But the ER sees all kinds of impaired . . .

steph

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I love how people pick and choose which laws to follow. As stated before marijuana is ILLEGAL. Buying, selling or using is a criminal offense. An employer would have just as good reason to fire an employee if were caught committing other crimes. My state (Ohio) is a "just cause" termination state. This means they can terminate you for any reason. I don't see any better reason than breaking the law. I agree it has to do with making good choices, and in my opinion carries over into judgements made in other aspects of your life, like work. I don't care if they test me or not, I don't have anything to worry about.

I would not want a nurse who smoked marijuana taking care of me.

Laura RN :nurse:

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Specializes in dialysis (mostly) some L&D, Rehab/LTC.
I live in CA and that is a stupid law.

My nephew is a CHP who used to work in Santa Cruz and there is an infamous doc in that area who gives out RX's for mj for NO medical reason. One of my favorite stories that he tells is pulling over a car with two young men reeking of pot and having them both pull out RX's for the pot for "back pain".

Yeah . .right. . . .:icon_roll

steph

I remember when I 1st moved to N. CA, I was standing in line at a festival and the people in front of me were smokN pot...I asked them if they were not afraid of getting busted...they laughed and showed me a script for the pot and the name of the Dr. I said damn.. Toto...we're not in Kansas anymore....:eek:

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Specializes in Maternity.

i agree with drug testing. if it was done away with imagine what would start walking through the halls of our buildings.

i don't know you so i couldn't decide if you were right or wrong about your situation. having said that, what some people may say is "responsibly" may be very different than what others would consider to be "responsibly".

there are rules in the usa that i don't necessarily agree with but i follow them because i know i have to. if i want to keep my job in order to support my daughter and i, and a job says i can't smoke mj, then guess what my choice would be.

you have the right to do what you want but for every type of action that we take we know there may be consequences.- this is what makes "rules" fair.

:twocents:

good luck to you!! :)

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being a nurse, i wouldn't smoke mj, only because it is illegal.

i am not against it on moral grounds however.

i wish etoh were illegal, as i see much more damaging effects.

when i was in my 20's, i smoked at noc, alone in my apt, didn't drive.

honestly, didn't care that it was illegal.

i'm not going to pretend that every single law out there makes a whole lot of sense.

my point being, is what people choose to do in their private lives, i believe is their business.

and, if it is illegal, it's important to remember there are consequences.

(we won't even discuss the 'consequences' of some legal allowances, i.e., etoh)

but op, i do see your point.

just be very careful.

leslie

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I live in CA and that is a stupid law.

My nephew is a CHP who used to work in Santa Cruz and there is an infamous doc in that area who gives out RX's for mj for NO medical reason. One of my favorite stories that he tells is pulling over a car with two young men reeking of pot and having them both pull out RX's for the pot for "back pain".

Yeah . .right. . . .:icon_roll

steph

I was watching "The Doctors" a few days ago, and they sent out one of their producers to prove how easy it was to get a medical marijuana license... ridiculous... all she had to do was tell the doc she had problems sleeping at night!!:eek:

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