Pt sat on the edge of the bed with a menu on his lap in "roll-a-joint" position.". He quickly removed "something" from the menu and placed it into his cigarette packet, which he then tucked away under the pillow on his bed. He then placed the menu on his table and sat back in the bed.
What I did not see:
Marijuana. Rolling papers.
What I know about the Pt:
Active AIDS. Cancer. Goes outside to smoke in his WC a lot. Enjoys IV morphine, Ambien, Ativan, and Norcos a little too much. He's a clock-watcher. Once smoked a cigarette in the BR of his hospital room while under the care of another nurse.
What I said:
Hey, it's a shame your doc cannot write you a prescription for "that," as I pointed to his packet of cigarettes. I give "it" here in the hospital in a capsule-form called "dronabinol." We discussed legalization of marijuana. I stated that he must not smoke in his room due the risk of fire, the fact that smoking is obviously not allowed within the grounds of the hospital.
What I did not say:
Hey, I see that you are rolling a joint with marijuana there.
What he did not say:
Yes, I was rolling a joint with marijuana.
My reaction and action taken upon the above discovery:
Nothing further than the above description of my implied knowledge of what he was up to and a genuine discussion of my true feelings towards legalization.
I'm just curious as to whether anyone else has experienced such an occurrence, anyone else's feelings towards this incident, and anyone's opinions on whether I acted well having been faced with this "ethical dilemma."
People can roll cigarettes too, just sayin'. Not that it really matters.
Yeah, I always roll cigarettes on a rolling tray of some sort, and if someone catches mid-roll, I quick stash the half-rolled cigarette in my packet of marlborough reds then stick that pillow.
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
Well ,then why ARE you uptight? You already stated you were surprised at the answers you've received. You wanted to know what our "thoughts" and "feelings" were if any of us have ever been involved in similar situations and you asked if we agreed with the way you handled it. You've gotten 11 pages now of comments-I guess I am not sure exactly what you want to hear ,we can parrot it back at you and bury the horse..it's been dead for sometime now,it's starting to smell....
I think your comments reveal you have a lot of prejudices you are uncomfortable with and that's why you continue to be so defensive about the flipping situation, OK?
If we really going to continue this ******** and be this ******* pedantic about things, I actually said, "Enjoys IV morphine, Ambien, Ativan, and Norcos a little too much."
you have a lot of prejudices you are uncomfortable with
Prejudices? Such as...?
We all know I think terminally ill patients that are in pain and request pain medicine on time are actually drug addicts and are having too much fun getting high. Can we call that a prejudice? Why not, right?
Ok, what's the next one?
Oh, that's right, I am uptight about marijuana, so we can also state here that I am prejudice against people who smoke weed (eat it, whatever). I believe them to all be hippies who need to find a job, and lets not forget that they are drug addicts too.
Apart from those two, the obvious choices, I don't know how one could miss them having read and understood anything I posted here in this thread, what other prejudices do I possess?
You may have "just" having a conversation about it....that doesn't mean that pt may roll his cigarettes.
He may have decided to light up the said cigarette; or even prefers his privacy and didn't want anyone to know about it.
You don't know what you know...
I'm so glad I started this thread. I can finally see where I went wrong all along. Maybe he didn't even have cigarettes at all. It was probably the fact that I had him pegged as a loser drug addict from the start that caused me to think what I saw and jump to the conclusion that he was, in fact, using more drugs in the hospital.
I then came here to shame him and pass judgement on not only terminally ill patients who ask for pain meds when they are in pain (those ******* drug addicts) but also to state my distaste for marijuana use.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Perhaps we all need to light(en) up a bit here . . . mellow out . . .anonymous I've been diagnosed with a few deep-seated personality issues as well. (by members of allnurses who don't know me!)
Prejudices? Such as...?We all know I think terminally ill patients that are in pain and request pain medicine on time are actually drug addicts and are having too much fun getting high. Can we call that a prejudice? Why not, right? Ok, what's the next one? Oh, that's right, I am uptight about marijuana, so we can also state here that I am prejudice against people who smoke weed (eat it, whatever). I believe them to all be hippies who need to find a job, and lets not forget that they are drug addicts too. Apart from those two, the obvious choices, I don't know how one could miss them having read and understood anything I posted here in this thread, what other prejudices do I possess?
I'm pretty sure you drown kittens and put puppies in the microwave, too. In all seriousness, let it go. Some people made up their minds on page one, and no amount of backpedaling or explanations will alter that. It's only adding fuel to the fire. Take with you those posts that are beneficial to you, and leave the rest.However, it (this thread) was kind of entertaining, and an interesting character study of behavior and group mentality in an online discussion format. It sure beats threads about rainbows and unicorn farts, anyway.
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
When someone joins the forum and starts a thread and then responds in such a pugilistic manner many of us tend to draw certain conclusions about that person. Screen names tend to add to those "stereotypes" too. There's a name for it. Just saying. I'm drawing my conclusions from the statements I read . There is no other history available for me to assess that could change my opinion.
I have said once that reminding the guy of the safety reasons why he can't smoke in the building was appropriate. Many of us don't have a problem with the fact he may or may not have pot. Controversy was invited by a number of other comments made by the OP that really did not have anything to do with suspecting the patient had pot on the unit. You've seen that many of us consider the POT a non-issue, you seem to find that shocking. Most of us would not have taken it any further. That's the end of that.....I wish I had a big old bud and a bowl to smoke right now.
I'm so glad I started this thread. I can finally see where I went wrong all along. Maybe he didn't even have cigarettes at all. It was probably the fact that I had him pegged as a loser drug addict from the start that caused me to think what I saw and jump to the conclusion that he was, in fact, using more drugs in the hospital.
I then came here to shame him and pass judgement on not only terminally ill patients who ask for pain meds when they are in pain (those ******* drug addicts) but also to state my distaste for marijuana use.
Brilliant.
See Ruas' post.
Again once you post, it isn't yours anyway-the true beauty of this site, along with you have to come to bat with your best post, because there's no real way to distinguish tone, since you decided to do so to my most ambivalent and aloof post...but hey, what do I know about "those" type of patients anyhow???
You STILL don't know whether your pt was rolling a joint or about to smoke whatever laced with it...maybe his Norcos...who knows?? Maybe he was masterbating into the menu?? You never really know what a cigarette pack can hold..the imagination of me!
Since you didn't see the actuals and only positions, one can either ASSume, or stick to facts, like you have already done and explained in detail..
Anonymous666
138 Posts
Yeah, I always roll cigarettes on a rolling tray of some sort, and if someone catches mid-roll, I quick stash the half-rolled cigarette in my packet of marlborough reds then stick that pillow.
Lets keep this up shall we?