I did a stupid, stupid thing...Need Advise!!

[New_LPN]

After a year of hard work, I made it through LPN school and passed my boards in May. In June my world fell apart when my mother died and I lost a baby at 22 weeks. As you can imagine I was overwhelmed by grief. I had somewhat of a breakdown, and stupidly turned to smoking marijuana to ease my pain. (Please know I do not think using drugs is a good way to cope, it was a very poor decision.)

I finally came to my senses last week and stopped smoking. I am seeing a counselor and going to support group meetings. I have no intention of ever smoking again, I value my work as a Nurse and would never put patients at risk by using illegal drugs.

I do not currently have a job, but want more than anything to start working as an LPN so I can gain experience and have the confidence and skills needed to continue my education and get my RN.

Here's the problem: I know that the THC may stay in my body for up to 90 days and I do not want to jeopardize my future as a Nurse by having a positive drug test result. But I also don't want to wait for three months to start interviewing for jobs.

If I were to interview and be hired, do you think I could explain my situation and still be considered for the position? Or am I just out of luck until the drugs leave my system?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read this!

[BoopADoop]

While we can't make this decision for you, here are some ideas to help you with your situation:

First of all, I wouldn't tell your potential employers unless your drug screen comes up positive, because everybody's different and the THC may very well work its way out of your system before the 90 day period. I know someone who smokes A LOT and his body is such that if he stops for two weeks it's out of his system.

Second, if it DOES come up positive, it doesn't mean that you'll be in trouble. From my understanding, you only get reported if you are intoxicated at work or there is an accident and your drug screen is positive. If it's as part of your application I don't think you'll be in legal trouble, but I would look into that because I could be wrong.

Third, if it comes up positive that's when you'll want to talk to this potential employer and say "Listen, after my mom died this is what I did and it was stupid, but I quit on X date and I will do anything I can to make the cut for this position". I knew someone who had marijuana show up in her system and the person taking her sample just whited out the positive and wrote negative, so it's not unheard of.

Fourthly (?) to ease your mind it might not be a bad idea to invest in a home drug test. I realize that these aren't 100% accurate, but if you take like 3 then you should be able to figure out what your position is and work from there. Don't try any of the "detox" methods because that's a load of crap and it will just hurt your system as they are unproven and unsafe.

Fifthly, I am so sorry for your loss and hope that you will be able to get back on your feet after this difficult time period.

[sissiesmama, ASN, RN]

Hey New - just wanted to check on u, and see how things are going. Hope ur doing ok -

Anne, RNC

[New_LPN]

Hello all-

Just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your advise and support. I was apprehensive at first to ask for your help in fear of what kind of response I might get, but I'm so happy that I did. You've reminded me that a true Nurse cares for anyone who needs them and I thank you all for doing that for me.

I put out some applications for restaurant job, ect. and hope to be scheduling some interviews soon! I think I will start applying for LPN jobs in two months and will definitely take some home drug tests before I take any for a new job.

Thanks again for all your help-

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

If I were to interview and be hired, do you think I could explain my situation and still be considered for the position? Or am I just out of luck until the drugs leave my system?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read this!

IMHO, I think you should wait it out. While I'm not going to judge how you coped with stressors in your life...prospective employers will. First, you have to take the chance that they will even give you a chance to explain, as THC is for the most part an illegal drug and a positive result might just end your job hunt right there with no chance to state your side.

Then if you do get the chance to explain everything to them and swear that you'll never use again, there will always be that seed planted in their minds saying, "is this how she might handle the stress of work?". And prospective employers may decide that is a risk with you that they don't want to take.

Better you go into interviews without having to explain anything.

Hope things have turned around for you, and best of luck.

[Bortaz, MSN, RN]

Hey New - just wanted to check on u, and see how things are going. Hope ur doing ok -

Anne, RNC

You're a good person, Anne.

[wbte]

After I passed my NCLEX I became discouraged at not being able to find a job, being that hospitals in my area are not hiring LP

N's, and other facilities that do, want years of experience as a requirement. I am not a user, and to make a long story short, I tried MJ with some friends. shortly after one of my applications came back, and I was requested to take a drug test. I declined the job before the results came back, because I knew I would be dirty. I do not want to loose my license for making a stupid mistake. Is there anything that I can do to rectify my situation and keep my license?

[HopefulNurse2011]

I think for urine test its only a month. Hair is longer.

[DedHedRN]

Why don't you take the next three months for yourself and get some counseling while you wait for the stuff to leave your system? Then you can start applying for jobs with a clean conscious and also on better emotional footing.