NicoleDime

Hi everyone! I've read tons of great advice here so I finally decided to post my own question. For reference, I am in Tennessee. I have used cannabis on and off for the past 5-6 years. I have dabbled/experimented with cocaine less than a handful of times in the past couple of years. Upon receiving my license in May of 2018, I began the process of completely quitting cannabis and cbd products. I had not used anything in approximately 40 days when I decided to apply for a hospital job. I was confident that there was nothing in my system, but to be safe I did drink extra water the couple of days before my pre-employment drug screen. After submitting the screen, I was celebrating my new career that evening with some friends and like an idiot did a couple of bumps of coke as one last "hoorah". The next day I was called by the employer and asked to come in that day to finish some paperwork. I obliged, but then had a confirmatory drug screen sprung onto me when I got to the facility, as my first specimen was dilute. I was given the option to retake the test right then, without leaving the premises or forfeit the job opportunity. I panicked and agreed to the second test, naturally failing for the coke I'd done the night before but also for thc! Again I had truly not used it for well over a month but anywho... Double whammy. My license was suspended 3 months after obtaining it, and I am now under a monitoring agreement with TNPaP. My question is this: if I'd not yet even held a licensed nursing position (and therefore could not have been caring for any patients while using aforementioned substances), is this the way my case should've been handled? I don't understand why I was reported if I was not technically a practicing nurse at the time of the test or even any time before. I did have to pay $500 and undergo and evaluation by a professional addiction specialist and was found not to have any substance abuse disorders, but still received a one-year monitoring agreement and 3 years probation.