Pot Smoking and Nursing

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Im angry.

I work for a small clinic in Northern CA. There are three RN's on staff at all time. Recently our Office Manager decided to start drug testing of all staff including Doctors. Well, one of the Nurses I work with came back positive for marijuana use. My thought was "Well she should not be doing it anyways" I was actually glad to see her get in trouble.

After discusing it with the Doctors they came up with a new unwritten policy. They will overlook marijuana. Basiclly, you can smoke all the pot you want but just on the weekends not during "on call" days. I questioned one of the Doctors about it and his response was to "chill"

Does this seem wrong to anybody else? Do Nurses really smoke pot on there days off?

Specializes in cardiac, diabetes, OB/GYN.

geeez.....

What is to keep an RN who uses illegal drugs from seeking an even greater high by taking them from the pixis.

An RN who uses pot should be FIRED, and for good reason. I would not want a "JUNKIE" (and YES....you ARE JUNKIES) caring for me or any of my family.....

good arguements made both ways

but for all you hypocrites who sit there drinking more than a few beers on your days off or taking prescription drugs *not as directed*

apply your same cast iron views to yourself instead of just throwing around your morals on pot smokers , take a good long look at your own lifes habits and how they could potentially affect your ability to nurse your patients

personally I would be realllllly hard pressed to think of which would be worse

a high nurse or a drunk one

they both seem pretty freakin scary to me!

if youre gonna lay the rules down effectively you need to apply them to all, not just some of the people, some of the time ...

cheers

oh and I dont smoke pot so I dont hold this view because I have a love for marijuana

and I dont smoke cigarettes and rarely drink too....

just incase someone was getting ready to call me a pothead or something :)

Specializes in Pediatric Rehabilitation.
Originally posted by erezebet

What is to keep an RN who uses illegal drugs from seeking an even greater high by taking them from the pixis.

An RN who uses pot should be FIRED, and for good reason. I would not want a "JUNKIE" (and YES....you ARE JUNKIES) caring for me or any of my family.....

erezebet,

Your comments are ignorant to say the least. First of all, pot smokers would know where to obtain illegal drugs, therefore have less need to steal from the pyxis than would..say a drinker seeking a "greater high". Also, you would have to ALLOW a narcotic seeker to steal by witnessing and not watching the waste. To remove the narcotic w/o proper count would surely quickly catch the eye of the institution. I'd see a drinker, seeking a "greater high" as more likely to steal narcotics..he/she probably wouldn't know where to obtain the stronger "high" on the streets.

Recently, we had a nurse fired for stealing narcotics. Had never smoked a joint in her life, however had a huge affinity for alcohol.

Also, where on this thread did you see someone state they personally smoke pot??? I'm sure you saw it somewhere, you DID call someone a "junkie".

I understand it's hard for many to be open-minded enough to take a stand for something in which they have no room for personal gain. I, however, like many here, have no desire to smoke a joint, but I also have enough respect for personal rights to see that it is not the employers business what someone does on their own time.

Wendy,

You rock, girl!

Originally posted by nurs4kids

I understand it's hard for many to be open-minded enough to take a stand for something in which they have no room for personal gain. I, however, like many here, have no desire to smoke a joint, but I also have enough respect for personal rights to see that it is not the employers business what someone does on their own time.

Very well said.

I too am wondering whose post erezebet read. Who gave erezebet a reason to call them a junkie? Maybe erezebet is high..............:devil: :stone :chuckle ;)

Finally I hear someone having fun at everyone's expense. Why is everyone so negative. This is my first time in and cannot believe how much hatred amongst members of such "loved" profession.

Originally posted by thisnurse

yeah micro so there

i think nurses are getting out of hand. everything we do impacts our patients. even the way we wipe after going to the bathroom. im all for cameras in every nurses bathroom not only for the wipe check, but the thorough hand washing technique.

we need to keep an eye on each other too. we have that obligation to our patients. next time im at the grocery store and i see a nurse with ding dongs or ho hos im going to make her put them back. i owe it to my patients and she owes it to hers.

we need to start living an example. i wouldnt want any fat nurse taking care of me. it would take her extra time to get to me if i coded.

i believe nurses should have to live in group homes, like convents.

that way we can watch each other and our employers can keep tabs on us on duty and off. in addition we should be required to wear our uniforms on duty and off. we need to remember who we are and what we do. we need to remind everyone else as well.

nurses shouldnt be allowed to have spouses or kids either. it takes away time that we need to continue our education and devote ourselves wholly to our patients.

we should have to keep a mandated log that we have to compare with our nurse practice act. this will help us ensure we are living accordingly.

micro you need to be ashamed of your dust bunnies. you might carry a fiber to work with you one day that could get caught in one of your patients bronchioles and cause respiratory arrest.

we are after all not a part of the general population, we are much better than that. we answer to a higher calling and we need to live good clean healthy lifestyles.

herees some ideas for you...this is what i do....

on my mirror i have a note that says....WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR YOUR PATIENTS TODAY?

i was going to have that tattooed on my arm but realized tattoos are against hospital policy ....self mutilation....

on my bathroom mirror, right accross from the toilet i have our nurse practice act. i am in the process of memorizing it word for word. that way not only will i be in check, but i can watch all my coworkers too and let them know when they are out of line.

these two little tricks help get me thru my days on duty and off.

nursing isnt just a profession, like i used to think, its a whole lifestyle.

maybe if we all can get our acts together we will get a raise and someday make 17 bucks an hour.

in the meantime, lets keep watching each other and policing each other. it keeps our minds off silly things like nurse/patient ratios, understaffing, long hours, and other so called safety issues that supposedly comprimise care.

and for goodness sake, LEARN THAT PRACTICE ACT!

you have a duty to your patients, yuourselves and your coworkers.

AMEN

I agree & disagree with so many of you! A nurse HAS to be able to peform her or his job, hopefully without missing anything. It is our JOB to care for people unable to care for themselves. We get paid to do this, therefore we should do our level best to perform at our best right? & if it's your day off I don't care what you do. Unless you're on call...LOL

Originally posted by SandyLV

Finally I hear someone having fun at everyone's expense. Why is everyone so negative. This is my first time in and cannot believe how much hatred amongst members of such "loved" profession.

:confused: Sandy, if you are feeling 'much hatred' in this thread you must come from a very protected background, IMHO. ;)

I see two basic sides in this debate. One side feels strongly a nurse professional should be able to do what they wish on their own time (even if it is illegal) and it NEVER be an issue for their employer as long as they are not actively high on duty..

The other side feels strongly that as professionals we have a standard to keep and that the use of illegal drugs, even on your off days, is a risky practice for many reasons including BON/nurse practice act guidelines.

The rest vascillate in the middle somewhere.....but believe me this is not hatred (although there are a few angry posters here I agree...)

But don't let a few angry folks keep you away! Welcome!

:roll

Specializes in LDRP; Education.
Originally posted by hapeewendy

good arguements made both ways

but for all you hypocrites who sit there drinking more than a few beers on your days off or taking prescription drugs *not as directed*

apply your same cast iron views to yourself instead of just throwing around your morals on pot smokers , take a good long look at your own lifes habits and how they could potentially affect your ability to nurse your patients

After reading all the posts on the subject, Wendy, yours made the most sense to me. I fully agree. Just because alcohol is legal and accepted in our society does not make it any less a toxin than pot.

And as for those taking Rx drugs *not as directed*; same can hold true to those who take sample medications out of the sample closet for personal use WITHOUT a prescription, which, is a felony. Whoops.:imbar

There is much about a nurse's personal life that can be torn apart and viewed as "unacceptable" besides pot smoking. Some nurses are horrible parents, some drink to excess, some may jerk off in the bathroom..who knows? The point is...what you do on your own time is just that...your OWN time. Unless you compromise patient care WHILE AT WORK, I could really give a sh*t.

:cool: :cool: :cool: Jayborn

I came back to reread your thoughts and ???????

Medical Use Marijuana..........

I honestly have only been involved with a situation once and way too early on in my nursing and to peripherally to make sense of it let alone remember today.........so experience I cannot talk about from nursing point of view......

No, can't talk about it from a patient's point of view either.......except to say there is much misinformation out there and it seems to come from the "professionals" as well as the lay population..............

I think there are big money and politics at play truthfully related to why marijuana is not more widely researched and utilized for various diagnosis that condition warrants.............but that is just micro's humble opinion.

good thoughts and questions Jayborn.........

micro:stone

now what is wrong with jerking off in the bathroom?

Originally posted by Jay Levan

mcl4, First, let me say that if you believe that you or any other parent can watch their children 24/7 I believe you have missed the train:eek:

What a ridiculous response. Nothing was ever written in my orginal post to suggest this.

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