How does BON handle + marijuana screens from nurses in states that have legalized it?

[Neveranurseagain, RN]

I see that Arizona has just voted in to legalize medical marijuana if you have a recommendation from an MD. How does the BON in the states that have legalized medical marijuana react if you test positive but have an RX from an MD for it? Anyone had any experience with their BON or know their policies?

[mb1949]

Good question, anyone

[OCNRN63, RN]

Don't. even. go. there.

[silentRN]

I don't know. It's so new. I'm very surprised it even passed in my state.

[coolpeach]

I wondered that myself. I am assuming it will be like any other drug ...if you have a current prescription you are in the clear.

I have wondered what will happen if they flat out legalize it. Will it still be illegal for nurses?

[Up2nogood RN, RN]

Medical marijuana is legal in my state but still prohibited by the BON and does not apply to nurses.

[ctmed]

I wondered that myself. I am assuming it will be like any other drug ...if you have a current prescription you are in the clear.

I have wondered what will happen if they flat out legalize it. Will it still be illegal for nurses?

I am sure they will still drug test and report to that board of nursing in that state.

However, from reading on NORML's website, the list of things you have to have to qualify would pretty much leave you unable to to nursing work.

from norml.org

Qualifying conditions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s), Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s, cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures (like epilespy), and severe and persistent spasms (like multiple sclerosis).

Now proposition 19 in CA that got defeated had a section that would have made it much harder to fire someone (even a nurse) for popping positive on a drug screen - which is really what the whole issue is about when it comes to us. What if we get second hand smoke?

Not that I am totally convinced drug screens really "weed" (bad pun) out bad medical staff addicts. I have seen a respiratory therapist caught digging thru dirty needles sharps boxes after reading MARs for wasted drug, Nurses giving themselves heplocks and found drooling out one side of the mouth passed out in the employee bathroom, an LPN caught smoking crack in an empty room, etc. Drug tests did not seem to stop those folks.

And, many of have plenty of horror ER stories about heroin junkies and crystal meth users but no bad stories about pot (which is what these tests really detect with any accuracy). - but THAT is another thread.

Pardon me, I am going to put on my tin foil hat in case my employer is logging my IP :)

[coolpeach]

I have been hearing you can pretty much get a script for almost any reason (headaches, restless leg syndrome, insomnia). It seems like if you have a Dr who prescribes it for a medical condition, and you are not under the influence a work then its a violation of your rights to say you cannot take what the Dr thinks is in your best interest.

I mean there are nurses who take pretty intense pain meds while not at work,and they are allowed to work. How is this any different?

[OCNRN63, RN]

I am sure they will still drug test and report to that board of nursing in that state.

However, from reading on NORML's website, the list of things you have to have to qualify would pretty much leave you unable to to nursing work.

from norml.org

Now proposition 19 in CA that got defeated had a section that would have made it much harder to fire someone (even a nurse) for popping positive on a drug screen - which is really what the whole issue is about when it comes to us. What if we get second hand smoke?

Not that I am totally convinced drug screens really "weed" (bad pun) out bad medical staff addicts. I have seen a respiratory therapist caught digging thru dirty needles sharps boxes after reading MARs for wasted drug, Nurses giving themselves heplocks and found drooling out one side of the mouth passed out in the employee bathroom, an LPN caught smoking crack in an empty room, etc. Drug tests did not seem to stop those folks.

And, many of have plenty of horror ER stories about heroin junkies and crystal meth users but no bad stories about pot (which is what these tests really detect with any accuracy). - but THAT is another thread.

Pardon me, I am going to put on my tin foil hat in case my employer is logging my IP :)

You're not really suggesting you can test positive from "second hand smoke," are you? LOLOL!

[ctmed]

I have been hearing you can pretty much get a script for almost any reason (headaches, restless leg syndrome, insomnia). It seems like if you have a Dr who prescribes it for a medical condition, and you are not under the influence a work then its a violation of your rights to say you cannot take what the Dr thinks is in your best interest.

I mean there are nurses who take pretty intense pain meds while not at work,and they are allowed to work. How is this any different?

Problem is, they can claim you are coming in impaired to work... which goes for prescriptions as well..... even if you took pot 3 weeks ago. It stays in the system detectable by drug tests up to 30 days!

Plus, it is still illegal to prescribe because pot is still a schedule I drug under federal law. A doctor must write a "recommendation" that you then take to the dispensary or agency that issues state cards.

My question.. If I have a CNA certificate and am a "caregiver" by the legal definition doing home health, am I going to have to roll joints for my patients or water the plants in his indoor growery if he lacks the ADLs??

((The myth of prescriptions comes from the fact that there was a movement decades back where like a dozen patients got prescriptions. But, only around 6 are still alive today. They get pre-rolled joints mailed to them from the federal pot farm at University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS))

[Fribblet]

It shouldn't be any different than a nurse who takes narcotics for chronic pain issues.

That being said, things get more complicated since Marijuana is still illegal on the federal level. Despite having an prescription from an MD, federal law trumps state law.

Hopefully, people will soon get over the idea that marijuana is this evil, addictive like heroine, life ruining drug. It's much less dangerous than alcohol, but that's another debate for another thread.

The second problem you will have is that marijuana, especially in regular smokers, will show in the urine for a long time after the last usage. It's almost impossible to tell when a smoker last smoked. Your last puff could have been 30 days ago, but it's still showing in your urine. Until they have a reliable way to test the amount present in your system at the moment you're tested, it's hard to determine a "safe" level of THC that would allow one to work unimpaired. Nurses who regularly use narcs for chronic conditions face this same issue.

[ctmed]

You're not really suggesting you can test positive from "second hand smoke," are you? LOLOL!

Well... the defense was used for a Canadian Winter Olympics athlete many years back...