nurses who have had a positive drug test and what the board of nursing will do

Nurses Recovery

Updated:   Published

I would love any advice, but please no judgement, I think I will be punished enough. thank you. I recently took a drug test for a discrepancy in the pyxis. I did not take the drug, nor do I ever take narcotics. I did however use frequently marijuana about a month ago. I have a disease called anklyosing spondilitis, which is really bad arthritis in all of my joints. My aunt who is a massage therapist in california works with a lot of pt's with my disease and stated that weed would help so she sent me some cookies to eat. I have no insurance cause I am an agency nurse and I usually get enbrel shots from my sister with the same disease, but she was out. I was desperate, not an excuse, but 800 mg of advil every 6 hours would make my kidneys fail or burn a whole in my stomach, and that is just to walk my dog, more when I had to work a 12 hour shift. My mom offered me narcotics, due to the same disease, but I did not want to go down the road.

It was a month ago so I'm sure it will come out positive. MY QUESTION IS....if i just say ok and loose my contract, which is fine, I know they can send it to the florida board and probably will. Can the board require a hair sample if I try to fight it. If this is the case then I will just accept it and go through it, but I'm trying to avoid all that I've read. Please help not sure what to do.

Thank you for your help

Thank you everybody. By some sort of miracle it came back clear. The advice was awesome.

I dont know if I am posting this in the right place but I am new to everything here and I am trying to find IPN approvecd facilities in the state of Florida...I was told by my evaluator ******** that there are only four in the state of florida, is that true....trying to get information from my insurance company or IPN is proving to be difficult

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
chico0909 said:
Thank you everybody. By some sort of miracle it came back clear. The advice was awesome.

Congratulations. But again, see my advice for what you should do should you have tested negative.

Best of luck in the future.

hallgavinzeke said:
I dont know if I am posting this in the right place but I am new to everything here and I am trying to find IPN approvecd facilities in the state of Florida...I was told by my evaluator ******** that there are only four in the state of florida, is that true....trying to get information from my insurance company or IPN is proving to be difficult

IPN approved facilities for what? If your talking about Inpatient Rehab's, there are a bunch of them that are approved by IPN. You just need to do some research on them before hand.

Send me a PM if you have more questions. There is a really do Inpatient Rehab in Southwest Florida.

Specializes in Main O.R. and CVOR.

yay! glad it came back clear for you. I thought when I saw you said a month ago it would. just be careful and never self report unless you have to. once they have a hold of you, there is no letting go and it's hell.

Hi there. I was wondering how long it took to get your license back after you surrendered? I am not sure what to do in my case. I am in probation in CA and got a positive alcohol test. : ( It was not intentional, I simply just forgot one day when I was with friends who didn't know I am not supposed to drink. It was the only time I got a violation. I heard in CA they will prob take my license. But I don't know if I should surrender or revoke? I eventually want to go back into nursing, I just don't know if it looks better to surrender or revoke it? Any feedback helps! Thanks

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
chico0909 said:
Thank you everybody. By some sort of miracle it came back clear. The advice was awesome.

OK so you dodged a bullet - now it is time to make sure you never have to worry about this again. First get yourself some health insurance! It's actually illegal not to have it now in the US so you will be paying criminal penalties which are scheduled go up from $90.00 last year to $250.00 per person per household this coming tax year.

Next stop the MJ right now. It is illegal and even if you get a medical MJ card the BON will still sanction you for using it if you get caught. I know what it is like to deal with debilitating chronic pain but MJ is not the option you should do if you want to maintain a nursing career. Also don't take your family members meds anymore. If you test positive for something you don't have a valid prescription for you will be up the same creek without a paddle. You need to talk to a physician familiar with non-narcotic pain management.

Peace

Hppy

what is 'the program" and how long does it last and what does it ensue? if they don't fire you when they give you test result is it best to quit?

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Esme12 said:
I think before you do anything......agree to anything....surrender anything.....get a lawyer. If you carry malpractice call them they also help you deal with licensure issues.

This is FL monitoring program,....IPN: Intervention Project for Nurses Florida

Most Mal practice does not cover professional licensing issues - but I agree talk to a lawyer and fully understand your options.

Hppy

Specializes in NICU, ER, OR.
Meriwhen said:
The bad news: MJ is fat-soluble and tends to take a long time to clear out of a person's system. It's not unheard of for it to take a month--or longer--before someone's THC level hits 0.

The good news: because of that fat-solubility, PO isn't the most efficient way to absorb THC. Granted, the cookie recipe itself can influence that greatly...not so much the amount of THC in there as the other ingredients in the cookie dough.

So there's a good chance that your test may come back negative. I'd wait and see what the test results are before you say or do anything else.

If the test is positive, I second Esme's advice and get yourself a lawyer and/or call your insurance carrier to determine the best way you should proceed. At best you may just lose your job without it being reported. At worst...

There's positives and negatives to surrendering as well as to completing a diversion program, but only you can decide what path is the best for YOU. The lawyer's help would come in handy in determining that.

If the test is negative...I'll be honest: scarfing down the ganja Scooby snacks is not the way to go about treating your pain. First, there's no guarantee that you wouldn't pop positive on a future test. Second, it is possible for you to develop an addiction, either by upping the amount of THC you ingest or (and I see this as the more likely scenario), you decide to try smoking it. Last, unless you have a medical MJ card, it's illegal. Even though you don't have insurance, I would try to see a doctor/HCP to talk about options for better controlling your pain.

Best of luck whatever happens.

* just wanted to add... even if it's legal at state and federal level, PLUS she had a medical use card for marijuana, it's STILL not legal to practice as a RN with it, in any state .... pot and nursing.... just can't coexist

Im not sure that Im posting this in the right place. I failed a drug test and my agency said they are reporting me to the FL BON. What do I do? What should I expect from the board? How long can I work as an RN before the BON contacts me?

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

Deleted - do to question already answered

+ Add a Comment