Can I lose my license over this?

[wafiyyah]

A couple of days ago I made a really grave error. One that I've never made in 15+ years of nursing. I had a narc error. A couple actually. I was on a temp assigment at a prison. I've never worked in a prison before and thought I was there to assist in the clinic not push the med cart. As a result of the med/narc error, I was pulled from that case and called into my agency. They took my statement ( which I honestly admitted my carelessness and oversight and not knowing all the procedures of the prisons documentation), then they sent me for a drug screening. Most likely to see if I had opiates in my system. I know there is no opiates in my system but there is weed.

My questions are:

Can I lose my license due to this?

Will this be reported to the BON?

What other jobs can I do besides nursing? (for over 20yrs I've always worked in healthcare)

I am so depressed that I put myself in this situation. After not smoking in 10yrs I pick now to do so, after having an impeccable nursing record for 15 yrs I made a dumb med error.

Any suggestions or advice???

Please don't say....stop smoking. I am waaaay ahead of you there.

Thanks all

[dreamnursing2]

Im not a nurse yet but I do work side by side with lots of nurses and I hear stories.. you may have to go in front of the board and at the end its up to their discretion to either suspend, evoke or put you through a drug rehab program. I live in CA and they are pretty uptight about these things.

[mushyrn, BSN, RN]

I long for the days nurses are rational enough to realize recreational weed use (off the clock) is no reason to be fired or punished by some tyrannical BON, same as it is now with the much more dangerous drug alcohol.

You should get a lawyer ASAP with experience in this. They can help you with your situation. Good luck and be more careful in unfamiliar environments in the future. Sharks are everywhere and your erroneous error gave them the chance to pounce!

[BostonFNP, APRN]

I long for the days nurses are rational enough to realize recreational weed use (off the clock) is no reason to be fired or punished by some tyrannical BON, same as it is now with the much more dangerous drug alcohol.

Recreational weed is illegal (in most states) and alcohol is not, that's all the BON cares about.

[mushyrn, BSN, RN]

... that's all the BON cares about.

I understand. I've never actually even tried it. But I highly doubt the BONs would be so progressive to forego that rule if recreational weed were to become legal.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

There are way too many unanswered questions to give you any kind of helpful advice in this situation. Have you seen the drug test results? Do you even know for sure that you tested positive for THC? Were you fired because of a positive test result? If so is your employer mandated to report to your BON and if they are not have they reported the positive result? As hard as it is at this point I would suggest you just play the waiting game and try not to worry too much until you know the results of the test and the possible repercussions. If the worst case scenario becomes reality and you do lose your job and get reported to the BON then that is the time to consult a lawyer that specializes in nurse licensing issues before proceeding. Whatever you do, if it comes to that point please do not appear before the BON without an attorney.