Drug screening for EMS cert/school

[AnthonyTheEmt]

All I will say about this is
1. Any EMS employer will drug test you.
2. As you can see, most people on here (myself included) refuse to work with a stoner (the OP also admitted to using LSD. Is this guy for real?)
3. How could expect anyone to trust you around narcs, or especially the care of another human being if you are lit.
4. do yourself a favor, and find another line of work. EMS is not a place for stoners, and saying that you cannot sleep without getting lit is a load of crap. Go to the pharmacy and there are other legal methods to solve your "insomnia" problem.

 

[Summit]

How does that story change a single thing about my statement? The DEA will arrest you if you if you're breaking the law, will they not'?

And federal law trumps state law, does it not?

DEA works for DOJ so if DOJ says don't persecute persons following state MJ laws that are in conflict with federals because we won't prosecute, don't you think the DEA will listen to their bosses?

Or maybe they'll listen to you

blahblahblah

Dude... seriously... rx thc is PO... do you read what you type?

 

[JPINFV]

Oh, I see. And the Tenth Amendment, that's just irrelevant? Can you show me where that was struck down? Or, perhaps, where the Constitution was amended so that the FEDGOV was the deciding factor in what substances you put in your body? Don't bother with the LAWS (such as the Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act) as they're quite invalid without Constitutional change.

You're right... and wrong to a large amount. If state and federal law conflict, then yes, the federal government wins. Read McCulloch v. Maryland.

Now that said, I'll add two points.
First point: I imagine that if a medical marijuana user could prove that he never engaged in interstate or international commerce to obtain said marijuana, then there's an issue of states rights v federal rights.

Second point: If the federal government makes a law, it's the federal government's job to enforce it, not the local police. In fact, the federal government is actively complaining that Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, AZ is trying to enforce immigration law with out the federal government's blessing. So, just because you commit a federal crime doesn't mandate that the local police arrest and charge you. They can, but in many cases (like decriminalized marijuana and medical marijuana areas) won't.

 

[Smash]

Nice to see "Reefer Madness" is still alive and well.

There are PLENTY of legal drugs that do the exact same things that marijuana is purported to do.

Really? So can you enlighten us as to what it is that binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain that isn't a cannabinoid?

Then maybe you could let all the researchers know, as they are clearly wasting their time investigated the effects of cannabis in people with AIDS (HIV) & AIDS Wasting, alzheimer's Disease, arthritis, chemotherapy, glaucoma, epilepsy, migraines, MS, chronic pain, psychological problems and the terminally ill.

Nothing has quite the same effect as cannabis, because nothing binds to cannabinoid receptors the same.

This is not an argument for or against the recreational use of marijuana, however it is attitudes like this that retard the legitmate research of cannabis.

 

[Summit]

Personally, I'd like to see Rx THC in preference to opioid narcotics for things like pain management in post-op outpatient surgeries and items like broken bones. The chance for abuse and addiction is infinitely less with THC (if the THC is effective enough). It also avoids some of the nasty problems of opioid narcotics like constipation, nausea, and dizziness.

I know I've had several vicodin prescriptions that sat in my bathroom unconsumed while I sat and suffered through bone fx pain on NSAIDS for days because the pain was not as bad as the nausea and dizziness. THC might have been the perfect solution but I don't smoke that crap... much less know where to get it.

 

[ChargerGirl]

Most places require a drug test once you have been hired right off the bat. Stay away from sleeping pills even over the counter ones because those make you feel foggy the next morning and especially cranky. Marijuana is fine just don't put the word out that you smoke because someone might rat you out. People have strong opinions when it comes to drugs. You would be suprised how many emts and hospital workers smoke weed. I dont though.

 

[thatJeffguy]

You're right... and wrong to a large amount. If state and federal law conflict, then yes, the federal government wins. Read McCulloch v. Maryland.

Only if the conflict is recognized as being within the bounds of the powers of the Federal government. I can't see anywhere in the Constitution that allows for the government to ban the consumption of "THINGS" because of their effect on a person's body. I do see the Amendment that ended prohibition putting the powers back to the states, clearly the BATFE isn't concerned with that.

 

[JPINFV]

Interstate commerace is essentially the 'loophole' used. If a drug crosses state lines, it becomes interstate commerce and opened up to regulation. Also any international treaties that the US has entered into also superceed state power arguments. Good luck getting a United States v Lopez ruling that deals with narcotics.

 

[VentMedic]

And in California, where the state provides exceptions for medical usage? Is that ok?

Various pain medications are also medicinal.

However, if purchased illegally and taken without a perscription, they are illegal.

Do you even understand the process it takes to get medicinal marijuana in California? Do you even know what patients take medicinal marijuana?

I seriously doubt if you do or you would not be lumping them into the same category as the stoners. These patients are not junkies just faking an illness to get drugs.

 

[emtlady76877]

Drug test

First let me say even though right now I am a volunteer we do get drug tested at reandum times. And at the college I go to we get drug tested before we start our clinical's. I think everybody should be drug tested and if they are using anything illigal or any other mind altering drug they should not be allowed to practice with out first being cleared from a doctor.

 

[eveningsky339]

What about people who use EtOH?

Though alcohol is a drug, a few beers to wind down off-duty is nothing to be concerned about. When an EMT shows up to work drunk or hungover, though, he's no better than a stoner trying to fake his way through a drug screen.

 

[Shishkabob]

Really? So can you enlighten us as to what it is that binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain that isn't a cannabinoid?
This is not an argument for or against the recreational use of marijuana, however it is attitudes like this that retard the legitmate research of cannabis.

SO you're telling me that THC in the non-marijuana form does not do the same exact things as THC in the marijuana form? You're telling me there aren't any good anti-emetics besides marijuana? Anti-anxiety drugs? Anti-convulsants? Anti-depressants?






You want marijuana for medicinal purposes. You get given the active ingredient of marijuana that causes the medicinal effects legally(THC), and it's not good enough for you, you still want marijuana. Don't hide behind the curtain of medicinal use if you refuse the medicine.

 

[VentMedic]

SO you're telling me that THC in the non-marijuana form does not do the same exact things as THC in the marijuana form? You're telling me there aren't any good anti-emetics besides marijuana? Anti-anxiety drugs? Anti-convulsants? Anti-depressants?





You want marijuana for medicinal purposes. You get given the active ingredient of marijuana that causes the medicinal effects legally(THC), and it's not good enough for you, you still want marijuana. Don't hide behind the curtain of medicinal use if you refuse the medicine.

The medicine form, Marinol, has the same active ingredient but also comes with some side effects of its own. A lot of patients get even more nauseated from it.

Alot of the more potent anti-emetics need a central line and not all patient do go home with a CL. Some also are nauseous to where they can not take PO medications. Inhalation has been an effective route for many medications without all the systemic side effects.

I am all for medicinal marijuana for some patients that demonstrate a need for it. However, if you are sick enough to require medical marijuana, you should not be working as an EMT.

A little bit of trivia: Asthma medications (a form of atropine) were rolled into cigarettes and smoked from 1900 to about the mid 1960s.
http://inhalatorium.com/page50.html

 

[framework4]

And in California, where the state provides exceptions for medical usage? Is that ok?

Oregon is a Medical Marijuana state. The Oregon Supreme Court recently ruled that companies can fire workers who test positive for marijuana use even if they have a medical marijuana card.
http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/04/oregon-court-marijuana-ruling-favors-employers.html

 

[KimberBoh]

What if they decide to chug a bottle of cough syrup? That's not illegal, is it? Or what if they smoke salvia? Or smoke DMT? OR any of the THOUSANDS of compounds that exist in nature that aren't scheduled yet by Supreme Edict of the DEA? I judge people by their performance.

Would you rather ride with someone that smokes marijuana infrequently and never within 48 hours of a shift, or a guy who gets poop-faced drunk every night?

Thank you so much for your response. This is the second thread I've read about the subject on this site and I'm dishearted by the crap coming out of some EMTs mouths.

I'd rather work with, hang out with, date, or leave my kids with an occasional majiuana smoker than some of the EMTs I know that go out and get hammered every chance they get. I know EMTs that come to work still fuzzy from the night before and unfortunately they'll never get 'popped' on a drug test.

 

[jjesusfreak01]

Interstate commerace is essentially the 'loophole' used. If a drug crosses state lines, it becomes interstate commerce and opened up to regulation. Also any international treaties that the US has entered into also superceed state power arguments. Good luck getting a United States v Lopez ruling that deals with narcotics.

Technically, treaties are not supposed to be binding on the states until they have been ratified by the states. Otherwise, the president alone would have the power to make whatever laws they chose within the US without any oversight.

As for the MJ/Marinol issue, my grandfather has had his entire stomach removed over two surgeries (due to cancer) and was given Marinol to help his appetite. It didn't, however my pothead roomie never failed to steal my food when high on the real deal.

 

[JPINFV]

Technically, treaties are not supposed to be binding on the states until they have been ratified by the states. Otherwise, the president alone would have the power to make whatever laws they chose within the US without any oversight.

You might want to pay a little more attention to the treaty process, namely the entire ratification process required prior to a treaty having an effect.

 

[jjesusfreak01]

You might want to pay a little more attention to the treaty process, namely the entire ratification process required prior to a treaty having an effect.

Exactly, but our officials don't always follow the rules though, do they? For example, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea sets the guidelines for international waters (which would be applicable in say, the recent Israel/Gaza incident). The US signed the treaty but it has never been ratified by the states.

I'm not saying that it should have an affect, but that doesn't mean politicians can't pretend.

 

[JPINFV]

Which part of the constitution dictates a state by state ratification of international treaties?

 

[ffemt8978]

Let's keep it on topic please.