Soon to be EMT-b, But an advocate for Medical Mariujana

[Jperdy]

Im going to be taking the national reg. soon to be certified EMT. Im excited to be getting into the field, I love the job; in furture pursuing emt-P and firefighter. But I wanna talk on the subject of Medical Marijuana and anyone else who wants to talk on the subject. Ive been using Medicimal Marijuana since age 16 im 23 now. I figure im probably going to have to stop, due to drug testing and such. But im a advocate for it.

Marijuana helps me study for my tests and concentrate better, sometimes I even go to the gym after smoking; it helps What steps should I take as far as this issue and getting into the field. ?? Latey ive been smoking only once a week. But I need some definate help in figureing out what i should do on this issue. Any suguestions???

 

[JPINFV]

You might want to have your physician contact the medical director. I imagine that something as sensitive as medical marijuana (you are, afterall, violating federal law), that a conversation from physician to physician would serve better than physician to you to EMSA staff to medical director or system director.

 

[terrible one]

It is highly unlikely you will ever get a job as a FF if you habitually smoke marijuana, regardless of your reason or if it becomes legal.

 

[Shishkabob]

The fallacy of medical marijuana aside, you're not even using it for the most "acceptable" aspect of it.

If you want a job in any sort of public service aspect, be it police, fire or EMS, you'll need to stop the marijuana, period.

 

[mississippimedic]

Dude you may want to check into some adderall

 

[Veneficus]

Im going to be taking the national reg. soon to be certified EMT. Im excited to be getting into the field, I love the job; in furture pursuing emt-P and firefighter. But I wanna talk on the subject of Medical Marijuana and anyone else who wants to talk on the subject. Ive been using Medicimal Marijuana since age 16 im 23 now. I figure im probably going to have to stop, due to drug testing and such. But im a advocate for it.

Marijuana helps me study for my tests and concentrate better, sometimes I even go to the gym after smoking; it helps What steps should I take as far as this issue and getting into the field. ?? Latey ive been smoking only once a week. But I need some definate help in figureing out what i should do on this issue. Any suguestions???

Consult your physician about switching to something less controversial like adderall.

Either way, taking psych meds may negatively affect your employability if not your ability to become certified.

If you are taking this for pain management, EMS is probably not the best career choice.

As for advocacy, there are demonstratable medical benefits of THC. However, the side effects as well as addictive nature (similar to nicotine) all but eliminates the use of THC for potentially productive members of society. If you have a terminal disease or are looking for long term disability, it is probably the best way to go.

As well, if you are not getting synthetic cannabinoid, it becomes difficult to predict the concentration and therefore dose. additionally, there are harmful effects of smoking anything, which makes it an unhealthy route of administration.

Homeopathic remedies in many cultures have a social support component that is often not employed in the modern western world. Causing the treatments to be used out of context and lowering their effectiveness.

 

[TripsTer]

Don't expect to become a firefighter anytime soon with regular reefer use. They'll laugh at you if you say "but it's medical marijuana,". Don't switch to adderall either, or anything that is dependent/addiction prone.

Throw it all away if you want a career with the fire department. Even alcohol is frowned upon these days, and that stuff's legal...

 

[JPINFV]

The fallacy of medical marijuana aside, you're not even using it for the most "acceptable" aspect of it.

...what fallacy of medical marijuana use? Please cite articles from peer reviewed journals.

 

[Shishkabob]

The fallacy that you need to use marijuana to get the effects of THC.

 

[Don Gwinn]

I'm not really buying the whole medical marijuana movement . . . seems like a pretty transparent ploy to smoke marijuana for fun.

On the other hand, I could not possibly care less whether people want to smoke marijuana for fun. Every time I say that, someone asks whether I smoke it. The answer is no; I've never tried it. I also don't drink Tequila or Everclear, but I don't want to live through the second coming of alcohol prohibition, so why would I want to put up with a "war on" a weed that grows in the ditches around here? Why is it my business at all?

Similarly, I completely believe those of you who are saying a fire department won't hire someone who uses marijuana, even after it's decriminalized (and, folks, that's coming sooner than we think, at least in some states) but it really doesn't make sense. I can drink all the alcohol I want on my time off, but I'm not drinking tonight because I'm on call in half an hour. Why couldn't a pot smoker do the same thing? Just smoke on his day off and put it away when he's going to have to work soon? Let's face it, there are millions of pot heads doing that right now and excelling at their jobs.

I've also never met a pot smoker who had as much trouble quitting as cigarette smokers, so I'm not buying this idea of marijuana having addictive properties similar to nicotine. In college, we had a friend who thought he was smoking too much pot and getting absent-minded, so he decided to quit. He did, cold turkey, and I never saw him high again. It didn't seem like it was all that tough, though he'd reminisce from time to time. My wife started trying to quit smoking about that time (before she was my wife) and she's still sneaking cigarettes every once in awhile after ten years of marriage.

 

[JPINFV]

The fallacy that you need to use marijuana to get the effects of THC.

I definitely agree that there are better and more appropriate methods to deliver THC.

 

[Shishkabob]

I definitely agree that there are better and more appropriate methods to deliver THC.

See, I had you fooled for a bit, didn't I?

 

[firetender]

Let's Get Real!

If 25% of you (at least) do not toke on the side, I'll eat a turnout coat! Why is Medical Marijuana taking so much attention? Because it is a response to prohibition, which, when it comes to the vices of human beings, never works. MM laws are a reflection of the fact that marijuana use is mainstream and we're just looking for an excuse to use it without suffering out-of-proportion to the real damage of its use.

Even though the reality is it is a mainstream, recreational drug with far less real danger in its use than alcohol, in EMS it IS and will continue to be a "Don't ask; don't tell" sort of thing. I'd be surprised if middle management and the uppity ups with field experience fail to recognize smoking marijuana is now a part of our culture -- and widespread amongst EMS personnel.

Widespread? How can he say such a thing? Let's face it, Kiddos, avoidance and dulling of the pain of the intense, grueling stuff we go through -- not only EMS but medicine as a whole -- is part of how we do the job; marijuana use is often the LEAST of such regular abuse.

Look around you and you'll honestly see a significant proportion of us have that potential for abuse, many of us slip off the edge periodically (some, permanently), and there is nothing in the system that honestly and directly provides support for those wanting to do otherwise.

Five years from now (because things ARE shifting), maybe we'll be able to start flying ON the radar screen, but I sincerely doubt any EMS system will be ready to condone someone's regular use of pakalolo ("Crazy smoke" in Hawaiian) if there's even an inkling of suspicion that it would or could be used on the job. Our consciousness is altered enough naturally in doing the work, we really don't need to push the issue.

In the meantime; stay in the closet; that's where most everyone else is.

 

[DrankTheKoolaid]

re

All personal feelings aside on the whole marijuana
debate as i live within the now famous emerald triangle.
Any employer that accepts payment from the federal government
will be prohibited from employing anyone with a valid 215 card.
This came from the USFS recently when renewing its contract with a local
employer who employeed 2 individuals with 215 cards here in CA.
The employer was told very bluntly if the employees remained they would no longer receive any contracts that were funded with federal monies.

Now as ambulance fire and police all receive federal dollars you can see why you wont even get an interview with "medical marijuana" listed as a medication.

 

[Veneficus]

medical vs recreational use

Recreational marijuana:
Protecting people from themselves is not my business. Arguing whether cannabis is more dangerous than any other vice is a battle for somebody else. (take your pick, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, heroin, sex, gambling, etc.)When not at work or when not just prior to going to work, I really don’t care what people do. However, if you work around other people, your vice may put them at risk, and that is simply not fair to make somebody trying to earn a living accept that kind of risk for your pleasure.

Medical marijuana:
Medicine is my business. According to both of my pharmacology texts, as well as understanding of neurophysiology, and some other applicable medical science knowledge, cannabis is indicated for both cancer patients undergoing Chemotherapy and late stage AIDS patients. (These are people who are largely no longer producers in the producer/consumer scale.) Most terminal cancer and AIDS patients are simply not at work or leading an active life. (I understand there are always outliers, please save your anecdotes)

Other indications listed for THC include ADD, ADHD, and weight loss. (Did you know you could get a prescription for methamphetamine to treat your shyness until the late ‘80s in the US?)However, the side effects and potential long term complications (not including legal/social implications) Include: Tachycardia, resistant hypertension, hallucinations, abuse potential, irrational thoughts, psychomotor depression, and the potential to cause permanent psychosis. These potentials far outweigh any medical benefit it may confer in these diseases. There are simply better alternatives. Before you ramp up your anecdotes again, I also realize that some people will be resistant to other therapies and may respond to cannabis. But even so, before prescribing THC, there needs to be serious evaluation given to whether or not the cure may be worse than the disease. In other words, will you take a person who can be productive and change them to a dependant consumer?

Take for example a major sports figure. Would treating Michael Phelps or Lance Armstrong with THC increase or decrease the productiveness of their lives? Constant therapy would certainly make them ineligible to continue their careers which do not include “saving peoples’ lives,” or any other job that puts the public at risk.

As I mentioned before, a patient meeting the indications for THC and whom the effects will improve quality of life more than potentially destroy it, should receive it. If anyone is planning to argue the medical benefits of THC for patients not in such extremis, the strength of the argument is so poor I would not care to wager on changing the wide spread opinions on it.


P.S. It should also be administered in a healthier form than as a product of combustion.

 

[xgpt]

The fallacy of medical marijuana aside, you're not even using it for the most "acceptable" aspect of it.

If you want a job in any sort of public service aspect, be it police, fire or EMS, you'll need to stop the marijuana, period.

Ditto. This just isn't going to go away anytime soon.

Dude you may want to check into some adderall

I agree, but I know the military has restrictions against this sort of drug use too...I would be surprised if your EMS company or FF department has issues with adderall though...

You might want to ask yourself which is more important, pursuing EMS or smoking.

 

[emtCourt31]

When I went to go get my annual EMT physical the Doc told me that even if you quit smoking a year ago the police department, fire, ems still wont accept you. Something about testing your hair particals will show drug use. I've never heard ems doing this but I know for sure PD does this.

 

[spikestac211]

Give it up ASAP dude... millions and millions of people out there with just as much work to do as you get by just fine without it.


But I'm biased, every job I've had since I've been 18 has needed drug tests :blush:

 

[Griboba]

Jperdy I feel your pain buddy. I'm basically in the same boat as you but as mentioned in a few posts above you really need to take a step back for a second and ask yourself which is more important.

If you ask me what I would do, I'd cold turkey past your EMT-B class/clinicals. Get certified, get a job, a month later figure out weather you need to resume the weed phase or call it a wrap.

Best advice from someone who understands where you're at would be just get your school work done first and then in the privacy of your own home (while not on call) toke as much as you want. Just don't talk about MJ at work since you wouldn't want anyone to begin doubting you.

Good luck meng.

 

[TransportJockey]

Jperdy I feel your pain buddy. I'm basically in the same boat as you but as mentioned in a few posts above you really need to take a step back for a second and ask yourself which is more important.

If you ask me what I would do, I'd cold turkey past your EMT-B class/clinicals. Get certified, get a job, a month later figure out weather you need to resume the weed phase or call it a wrap.

Best advice from someone who understands where you're at would be just get your school work done first and then in the privacy of your own home (while not on call) toke as much as you want. Just don't talk about MJ at work since you wouldn't want anyone to begin doubting you.

Good luck meng.

If that's the way you feel then I fully hope you never work in any system with patients.