California marijuana legalization

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Hello all,

as of 2017, recreational marijuana use is now completely legal in California.

Can any nurses provide insight as to how most facilities will regard this issue? As long as you don't come to work impaired, will you still get fired for recreational use?

Im a new grad RN about to start working in a correctional facility, and I quit smoking about 2 months ago, as I don't want to take any chances. However, I would assume that attitides on this issue will be continuing to change, and it may be rocky for the first few years.

Thoughts? Experiences?

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I've never known a hospital (or other nurse employer) that didn't drug test as a condition of employment and require consent for random drug testing on top of that. And yes, you will be fired if you test positive ...not to mention probably reported to the BON. Marijuana use and nursing are not compatible for individuals who wish to stay licensed and employed.

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Specializes in ICU.

Actually I can think of several hospitals that do not drug test from coast to coast. IMO the detection level needs to be raised. It is currently 50ng/ml or 20ng/ml which is crazy since chronic smokers can test positive for 6 months after last use as opposed to drugs that can actually kill you. Marijuana should receive the saliva test ONLY as it detect for up to 12 hours. All the other drugs should be urine.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I've worked in two states where THC is legal recreationally (Colorado, Oregon). In both states, most facilities still require their nurses to NOT smoke marijuana, and if it is detected through a UDS, it's a fireable offense.

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Federal law always takes precedence over state law, until the Feds make it legal it will be treated as such in hospitals and other professional organizations.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Cigarettes are legal and the majority of hospitals now require employees to be tobacco-free, even to the extent of testing new hires for tobacco use.

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Because we are nurses we can't have the same rights as any other non healthcare individual? What a crock!

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Yea just more restrictions on our outside personal life. Only Nun's should be nurses these days!

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
ModernRN said:
Yea just more restrictions on our outside personal life. Only Nun's should be nurses these days!

Huh?

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Because we are nurses we can't have the same rights as any other non healthcare individual?

Um....every facility I've worked at that does pre-employment drug testing, does it for ALL employees, not just nurses.

I guess you need to decide what's more important to you....working in healthcare or being able to burn a doob.

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ModernRN said:
Yea just more restrictions on our outside personal life. Only Nun's should be nurses these days!

You must not be a nurse in California :lol2:

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ModernRN said:
Because we are nurses we can't have the same rights as any other non healthcare individual? What a crock!

I'm assuming since your user ID has RN in it, you're an RN. Therefore you would have invested a number of years in nursing school, so this is not a new and shocking topic. Certainly throughout your education process you learned what was expected of an RN above and beyond the average guy on the street. Holding an RN license is a privilege not a right. Being employed in a very trusted position is a privilege not a right. It is the right of any employer to expect certain standards from their employees, and that includes controlling what legal and illegal substances are permitted from those employees.

I am not a nun but I do know what my employer expects from me. If you are a nurse, you should know what your employer expects of you. Don't like it? Don't believe you should have to work under those conditions? Then don't! Choose a job where this never comes up.

Not news though, right?

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Update:

Marijuana is still federally considered an illegal drug, and most healthcare facilities follow federal law, as opposed to state laws, on this issue.

so if you fail a drug test and test positive for marijuana, you will most likely be terminated, and it will go on your record. This even applies to states where marijuana is legal, as federal laws trump state laws in healthcare facilities.

Thank you all for your clarification.

I will most likely, for my job security, not be smoking marijuana. It stays in your system for 30 days (how ironic that a safe substance stays in your system longer than destructive meth, coke, alcohol, etc), so this means not even occasional use.

However, that does not mean that I agree with this at all. It is utterly ridiculous that marijuana is not considered a federally legal substance in 2017. As registered nurses, I think it's hypocritical for many of us to have dismissive or negative opinions about marijuana, considering that it is completely safe to use (with common responsibility) and also considering all the positive health and medical benefits.

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