RN with medical marijuana card

[youenjoymyself]

Long time lurker here.

So I have cancer. Papillary Carcinoma of my Thyroid. Diagnosed in 2011. I have one RAI treatment left to use and I am saving that in case it spreads to my bone, lung or brain. Had multiple surgeries on my neck. I now have what my surgeon calls a Chernobyl Necklace. I still have cancer in my neck. This is a strictly surgical disease at this instance, but since tumor is extremely close to my larengeal nerve, surgeon will not operate on it unless it gets larger.

Enter Cannabis Oil.

Studies have shown tumor reduction with the use of topical cannabis oil in my type of cancer.

If I have a medical card, FROM a DOCTOR, would the BON of PA still revoke my license?

[dec2007]

youenjoymyself said:

Well, I am in the market for a new job and MMJ has just been implemented here in PA on 1/1/18. If I am just upfront with my employer and it is acceptable to them, maybe I should be in the clear?

You might be, but unfortunately if a co-worker or a new manager decides to object to your use later on, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to prevail. I'd hate to see that happen to you. If you DO decide to tell your employer and are hired with them knowing, I would make it a rule not to talk about it with co-workers. It only takes one spat with a fellow employee to make your work life uncomfortable.

[heez63]

You mention using topically, I wonder if this would even show up on a drug test? I'm not sure if this is true but I have heard that cannabis oil is different than regular dry herb marijuana, waxes and concentrates. I feel like it wouldn't have any psychoactive effects. Maybe not even show up on drug test??

[angeloublue22, BSN, RN]

I work in Oregon where it is legal both recreationally and medically and here's how it works. Our BON has stated that using marijuana per se would not get your license revoked or put on you probation, but if you were working and your facility drug tested you and you were positive, they could report you to the border for practicing under the influence and then the BON could revoke your license and/or put you on probation. But if you were positive and the facility you work for is alright with you using marijuana or asks you to produce a script and they are okay with that, then it won't effect your license. I only know this because my father in law is a nurse and he ended up being positive for marijuana because he used it medically and our facility was fine with it. That is very rare though.

Most facilities here in Oregon will especially forbid marijuana use by staff in the hiring paperwork. At my facility, we even get bi-yearly reminders that even though marijuana is legal we can still be fired and reported if we use it. One of our support staff recently almost got in trouble because she was using cannabis infused oil to rub on her hands due to arthritis and she loved it, but didn't know it would soak into your skin and make her positive. She self reported after she told me she was using it and I informed her of this. She didn't want to get caught accidently. They were nice about it because she didn't know and self reported. Poor lady, it was the only thing that helped.

[heez63]

As far as a drug test goes I have read that one you would get a false positive. So the UDS is a two part process. The first dipstick is an indicator of cannabanoids (I think, or something like that), in your system. You would probably fail that. Next part of the process is GC/MS (or something like that) it looks for the psychoactive part of weed, tetra Cannabinoid. So, I suppose you would ultimately pass a drug test. This is just speculation though. This topic really interests me and I was reading more into it after I saw your post.

[K9lover, ASN, RN]

If you have a card isn't that the equivalent of a prescription? I'm not sure, it is illegal under federal law though. May vary from workplace to workplace, I work in a county jail and was told in no uncertain terms it was illegal (although it is legal in Calif)

I was never much interested in it when young, made me feel weird and paranoid so I likely would not use it for pain because I would find it much too mood-altering to work under the influence.

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

This Nurse is in Pennsylvania & I'm pretty sure that the BON would slap him in a monitoring program if they got wind of him testing positive no matter the circumstances. I honestly wish this wasn't the case but I'm just about certain it is.

[DannyBoy8, RN]

MunoRN said:

A number of nursing boards have put out position statements in the wake of medical and recreational marijuana legalization at the state level, and I think people may be overstating their stances. Generally, boards of stated their concern is with impairment at work, and when issues of known use comes up their focus will be on whether there was any potential impairment while on the job, whether it's marijuana or appropriately used prescription medications, not any use at all.

MunoRN hitting the nail on the head with regard to position statements.

There is a big difference between a positive urine screen (which only establishes prior use), and a positive blood test (which could prove current impairment). Nurses should be able to use cannabis responsibly on their own time in the same way that we can have two glasses of wine, go to bed, and wake up for work - unimpaired. I think some forum users might be confused about the extent of a 'high' - it doesn't last forever, and cannabis hangovers are nonexistent.

Furthermore, I'd like to reiterate something that has been said before; cannabis is used by many high-functioning members of society to deal with non-life threatening conditions (anxiety, depression, pain, etc.). You don't need to knocking on deaths door to benefit, and shouldn't have to be there to access it. This issue (use of cannabis by HCPs, rec. or med.) seems to carry much less stigma over at SDN, and I'd recommend that the institution of nursing (the powers that be) start to embrace a similar culture of acceptance.

Employers will always be able to establish their hiring and employment standards, but those shouldn't translate to punitive actions taken against a license unless there is some form of abuse. Of course, if you have medicinal cannabis rights, there is a growing body of legal knowledge with regard to handicap discrimination - it looks as though the unimpaired (on the job) will maintain their rights to usage and employment (state dependent). Handicap discrimination seems to hinge on burdensome accommodations, and a nurse using medicinal cannabis on their own time wouldn't require any. This isn't legal advice, only commentary (I'm not a lawyer, so seek advice from one).

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Issues Groundbreaking Decision, Allowing Medical Marijuana User to Assert State Law Handicap Discrimination Claim | Ogletree Deakins

[alexalex77]

Hello!

This is incredibly informative thread for me! Thank you!

I am currently considering obtaining my Medical card, but I have some concerns. My husband is a medical marijuana card holder so I know of the basic laws and rules, I read many subject related articles , but your real life recommendations are really valuable