Nurses smoking weed?

Farawyn · Apr 23, 2016

Well, according to Seinfeld, it should be a Junior Mint, which will actually help you...
Personally, as long as I have a license, I will abstain from anything that has any potential of jeopardizing my livelihood. My facility does not hire smokers and tests for nicotine; I won't smoke. I won't drink alcohol within 10 hours of the start of a shift. And I will not indulge in any other mind altering substances, legal or not. That professional license already holds us to higher standards that I intend to adhere to.

*drapes my arm over Rosie's shoulder and hangs with her*

shan409, ASN, BSN, LPN, RN · Apr 23, 2016

I agree with most of the other nurses.

But I do have a point if view on the subject that my be different: marinol and other weed derivatives are proven to do more good than harm unlike other RX only medications. I've worked with nurses "on" Xanax, methadone, and other meds for stress and health problems due to their career in the healthcare field and I personally would feel safer and believes it would be more cost effective to "use"/" indulge "/" take" weed (smoke it or eat the edibles). It's really interesting that something much safer, with less side effects than some expensive, RX only meds is not being discussed more often.

Farawyn · Apr 23, 2016

I am a Retired RN so I feel free to say this: I never smoked the stuff during my career and my license was too important to lose it for any reason. When everyone was trying it I had stayed away from that scene. Now I am in my mid 60's, I have several autoimmune disorders, and I have chronic pain issues and medical marijuana has helped a lot. I do not smoke it because I don't like to smoke anything. Not a smoker! But I do use tinctures under the tongue, small pieces of chocolate bars, and other ways to ingest it. I first saw marijuana use when my sister was dying of cancer. At first I was horrified that she would depend on that stuff but I saw her use it just exactly the way morphine is used for terminal patients. She had a puffer, sublingual tincture, and brownies. I learned about sites in the body with marijuana receptors. I learned that it is not an opiate and does not cling to opiate receptors. Later toward the end she did have morphine and lorazepam. But for most of her time dealing with terminal cancer she used marijuana for pain and to calm her when she panicked from the thought of dying. Really, I learned not to fear it. It's not a cure all but it helps with pain. I live where I can buy it. It saves me from the dependence on opiates and helps me live as near a normal life as I can live.

I'm sorry for your pain. My dad has MS and was addicted to opiates for years. That addiction cost him much more than his disease has.

I often wonder, if he smoked some pot back in the day as opposed to the damn pills and patches, if his outcome would be different today.

holisticallyminded · Apr 23, 2016

So no one is addressing the fact that it's legal in WA State? LEGAL. It doesn't matter what you think/feel about it; it's a LEGAL drug that can be smoked outside of work recreationally. And other states are going in such a direction....

Do any of you know nurses who smoke tobacco? I do. And that one baffles me more than any other.

Kitty333 · Apr 23, 2016

Honestly. I love smoking weed. I have nothing against it. I've been smoking it ever since I was a young teenager but will definitely never do it again according to my career. It's not worth it. I would never risk my career that I worked so hard for, 6 years of loans and tears and hard work and lose it all because of marijuana? Lol no thank you, i definitely do not smoke it anymore.

cbob · Apr 23, 2016

I think marijuana is a crutch. I hate to think I am being cared for in the hospital by persons who need a crutch. Marijuana is not only illegal in most states it is psychologically additive. A well adjusted person does not need a mind lifting drug. I am against the use of marijuana in all cases especially by persons who are supposed to be mirroring good health practices to help create healthy individuals in our care.

Marijuana is not addictive. I see what you are implying but it is not classified as an addictive drug and it is used to get users off of more addictive drugs. What if you are being cared for by someone that is overweight because they use food as a crutch? Binge eating is not healthy but you could say that it is an addictive crutch and the dopamine rush from it is somewhat addictive. I agree that as nurses we should reflect good health but just because someone smokes marijuana does not mean that they are not in good health. Gold medalist Olympic athletes smoke it and some where high when they won their medals.

Cassie23 · Apr 23, 2016

Doing drugs is irresponsible. Regardless of if I am retired or not, smoking weed is not a cool thing to do period.

allnurses Guide · Apr 23, 2016

Pot has been shown to impair judgement. Isn't that why we like it?
The coffee argument is a straw man. Unless you drink a gallon of coffee it is not going to be detrimental to your thought processes.

Yeah, people need to quit with the straw man stuff . . . :sarcastic:

So no one is addressing the fact that it's legal in WA State? LEGAL. It doesn't matter what you think/feel about it; it's a LEGAL drug that can be smoked outside of work recreationally. And other states are going in such a direction....

Still a Federal offense . . . :nono:

Since 1996, 23 states and Washington, DC have passed laws allowing smoked marijuana to be used for a variety of medical conditions. It is important to recognize that these state marijuana laws do not change the fact that using marijuana continues to be an offense under Federal law. Nor do these state laws change the criteria or process for FDA approval of safe and effective medications...
...It is important to note that Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is committed to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) consistent with these determinations. On August 29, 2013, DOJ issued guidance to Federal prosecutors concerning marijuana enforcement under the CSA.

https://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/3052013829132756857467.pdf

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cbob · Apr 23, 2016

Congress lifted the Federal Ban on medical marijuana on December of 2015. They allow the states to decide. Not too well known, did not get too much coverage.

quazar · Apr 23, 2016

I personally do not and have never used. I will not use due to the risk of losing my license. That being said, I am flamingly pro-legalization. I also know quite a few nurses who openly admit to using, although for the life of me I cannot fathom why. I guess random drug testing just doesn't cross their minds as something that could actually happen to them.

dmmlayton · Apr 23, 2016

I think there needs to be new regulations on how marijuana is tested for in drug tests. It's not logical that a substance could be in your system for so long and yet an RN could lose their license due to smoking a month prior if they were off duty. The limits need to be adjusted to show recent use such as the day of rather than levels that could be in your system from doing it on your day off. Toxicology needs to catch up with the times.

sassyrn333 · Apr 23, 2016

I don't think it should be illegal, and I don't think it should be a drug that nurses are tested for. As far as I'm aware there is not a test that confirms ACUTE intoxication. It just tells them that you smoked some time during the last 30 days. If I have a glass of wine within 30 days of working does that make me a bad nurse? No. Pot is no different. I'm obviously not a smoker, I could lose my job. But I think what the discussion should be about is weather or not people think that it is actually something nurses should be drug tested for. I don't think anyone will admit to it if they do, so I wouldn't even go there.