Health Care Professionals and Marijuana

There have been varying stances by nursing boards and employers on medical and recreational marijuana. Some states have fairly clearly established what criteria they will use, and others are basically leaving it whatever precedent they end up setting with individual cases. There are states and employers that have come out and said they are only concerned with impairment while at work and/or testing positive for active psychoactive compounds now that these tests have become widely available (as opposed to tests the look for inactive metabolites).

I don't know that I would want to give my employer that much power, especially if I didn't know the stance of the BON.

I guess we will see how this shakes out in the states with legalized pot. There is still no standard level that marks intoxication for THC. In the case of a medical error, a lawyer would jump on anything greater than zero like a chicken on a June bug. That goes for alcohol as well but it takes much less time to metabolize EtOH. Measureable levels from a Saturday night blunt will linger days past a couple of glasses of wine.

Now the states, through Congress, need to change the national law so that it won't conflict with the vast majority of states. We have acted like a monarchy since the first state passed medical marijuana. A sovereign can choose to ignore laws he doesn't like. The problem is when leadership changes the items subject to a wink and a nod also change. If we are going to be a nation of laws then the laws should match what we do.

Didn't California voters oppose random urine tests for drugs and alcohol for physicians a while back? I think you are seeing a lack of desire for implementation of disciplinary action on the part of your organization or person/s within your organization.