Medical Marijuana and home care clients

[MarieFlemingLailer]

Hi - work in the health care field, and Massachusetts is new with the Medical Marijuana, I understand the teaching involved, i.e. like any other drug, but what about the patients smoking in front of you, (I don't like cigarette smoke!) Have any ideas about how to handle this. I can't refuse to allow patient to take own medication.....

[aachavez]

My first concern is would this exposure cause you to pop positive on a drug screen?

[DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP]

We have a home hospice pt that smokes marijuana when he has breakthru pain. I simply move to another room until he is done. He smokes it out of a pipe, and it doesn't seem to create as much smoke as a cigarette.

aachavez- good question!

[I<3H2O, BSN, RN]

That would be quite a predicament. I think that you would have to have the smoke blown directly in your face for the entire joint/cigarette/pipe full (I'm at a loss as to how to refer to it!) for it to affect your UDS. I would simply say, "I understand this is your medication but the smoke from it causes me difficulty breathing. I will be here at X time on X day and I would appreciate it if you would smoke either before or after I am here." This way, you are not telling them what to do and if they care at all, they will comply. :)