Can Nurses Smoke Weed In Colorado?

In several places throughout the US, recreational and medical use of weed, marijuana, CBD, and cannabis products is allowed. Before smoking cannabis, weed, pot, honey oil, honey oil, or using medicinal marijuana or other psychoactive THC products, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare license holders should be aware of the following problems.

Though with a medical card and in legal jurisdictions like Colorado, California, and Washington, authorized healthcare personnel is subject to more restricted marijuana usage regulations than the normal community. So the question is can nurses smoke weed in Colorado? Let’s see whether there’s a yes or no answer.

Legislation History of Weed in Colorado

In Colorado, both adult-use and medicinal marijuana are legal, and regulated shops may be found all across the state.

Since 2000, when voters adopted Initiative 20, which became Amendment 20 and was enshrined into Colorado’s constitution as article XVIII, section 14, medical cannabis has been allowed in the Centennial State. It legalized medicinal marijuana and established a patient and caregiver identification card system. The medical and recreational legislation was eventually merged under Title 44, Article 10 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS).

Proposition 64, commonly known as the Colorado Marijuana Legalization Act, was adopted by voters on November 6, 2012. Proposition 64 made recreational marijuana legal for adults aged 21 and above, as well as establishing sales and production taxes. It was enshrined in Colorado’s law as article XVIII, section 16 of the state constitution.

The state enacted HB 1230 in 2019, which established new business licenses for marijuana clubs, sampling rooms, and other cannabis-based tourist companies, enabling customers to take marijuana and marijuana-infused goods purchased somewhere else.

The Colorado Department of Revenue regulates Colorado marijuana regulations and the adult-use marijuana business (CDOR). It also oversees medicinal marijuana production, transportation, screening, and sales, as well as providing regulatory supervision and licensing. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment oversees the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry (CDPHE).

Can Nurses Smoke Weed?

Nurses can consume marijuana in areas where it is legal, such as Colorado and California, as long as they are not intoxicated while treating patients. They do not work for the federal government and obey their employer’s drug policy. Furthermore, they do not break any DUI or other drug-related laws.

The main difficulty for nurses is that most nurse companies forbid their employees from using weed, even though it is legal. Employers have a legal obligation to keep a drug-free workplace for safety-sensitive professions even if medical and recreational marijuana usage is legal in their state. Nurses who consume cannabis and fail a drug test can be fired, even if they have a medical card. Each firm has a drug policy in place, and you should check with HR to find out what yours is. As a mandatory requirement, employers have the right to request a pre-employment RN drug test.

Marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I restricted drug by the federal government. Regardless of state legislation or whether they have a medical card, federal personnel are not allowed to consume pharmaceutical or recreational marijuana. Nurses can be fired by the Veteran’s Health Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other government agencies if they use marijuana.

Testing for THC impairment is difficult because no drug test can accurately determine whether or not something is now impacted. Unlike alcohol, a nurse’s marijuana use can be detected weeks since their last use.

To demonstrate a whole of the evidence that THC affects someone, drug test results are usually combined with other observable indicators of intoxication. If a workplace event happens as a result of cannabis use, the company or nursing board may allege that the occurrence was caused by drug intoxication at work.

Multi-state travel nurses must pay special attention to the marijuana regulations in each state where they are licensed to work. A failed drug diagnostic test at a new mission in another state might result from legal usage in one state.

The Board of Nursing has the authority to take action against a nurse’s license if their marijuana use becomes a drug addiction issue that conflicts with their job performances.

Do Nursing And Medical Schools Require Drug Tests?

The majority of nursing and medical school programs involve drug testing as part of the admissions policy. The necessity arises from the fact that schools must adhere to the laws, rules, and accrediting criteria of health care organizations.

Medical students are subjected to pre-clinical testing via urine drug test since medical school curricula involve clinical integration sessions that involve students in the delivery of healthcare services (UDS). The drug screening criteria of each institution must meet the certification and regulatory issues of their linked healthcare organizations.

Amphetamine (methamphetamine), barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, marijuana, methadone, methaqualone, opiates (codeine & morphine), phencyclidine, propoxyphene, and oxycodone are commonly tested for in urine drug tests in medical and nursing schools. Hair follicle drug testing is used by certain schools to identify long-term drug usage. Positive drug test results almost always necessitate a check of the medication paperwork.

Employers’ Rights

One of the first states to legalize marijuana was Colorado. It is, nevertheless, still prohibited on the federal level. As a result, even if cannabis is legal in your state, you may indeed face penalties for smoking it.

Employers have the right to keep their workplaces drug-free. According to Colorado law, they are not obligated to facilitate medicinal or recreational marijuana usage in the workplace. Employers have the right to terminate workers who test positive for marijuana, even if they used it off the clock and have a legitimate medical marijuana card.”

You may lose your job if you consume marijuana, which is prohibited at the federal level.

Conclusion

So now it is clear that nurses are permitted to use marijuana in states where it is legal, like Colorado and California, as long as they are not inebriated while treating patients. They are not employees of the federal government and must adhere to their employer’s drug policies.