Marijuana Legalization and Potential Workplace Pitfalls for Nurses Who Partake

Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, writes a monthly post for this blog and works as an infusion nurse in outpatient oncology.

Mount Hood, Oregon as seen from the Washington State side of the Columbia River Gorge/photo by Julianna Paradisi Mount Hood, Oregon, as seen from the Washington State side of the Columbia River Gorge/photo by Julianna Paradisi

Wednesday, July 9, 2014, marked the first day of legal, recreational marijuana sales in the state of Washington, not long behind similar new laws in Colorado earlier this year. As in Colorado, the marijuana supply in Washington was initially insufficient to keep up with demand; stores ran out of cannabis before all customers waiting hours in line got through the front door.

The following weekend, my husband and I (we live in Portland, Oregon) took a road trip through the Columbia Gorge on the Washington side of the river.

“Hey, we could buy a joint here, and share it,” I joked. (Neither of us actually partakes.)

My husband, a pharmacist, remarked, “It may be legal, but testing positive at work could get either of us fired or invite state board investigation.”

For my husband and me, as Oregon residents, the point is moot: no amount of THC in our urine or blood is legal. For Washington and Colorado residents, […]