Can Doctors and Lawyers Toke?

Marijuana may be legal in parts of the United states, but that doesn’t mean everyone has the same rights to toke. Kids, for example, must wait until they’re older.

But there’s another group of people whose right to use even legal cannabis is tenuous, at best. Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals operate under legal and ethical rules that often make it difficult to use.

So can these licensed professionals ever light up legally without endangering their licenses? As usual, the answer depends, but one thing is certain: The risk often outweighs the reward, especially for medical professionals.

First, let’s review. Cannabis is currently legal in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, as well as the District of Columbia. It’s already on sale in stores in Colorado and Washington State, and should soon be available on the retail market in Oregon, Alaska, and D.C.

The laws in those places allow (or soon will allow) all adults to buy, possess, and use marijuana on private property. That includes anyone over the age of 21. Doctors, dentists, lawyers: They’re all allowed to walk into a neighborhood store and buy small amounts of cannabis for personal use.

Licensed professionals subject to disciplinary board action

But that law is hardly the end of the question. Licensed professionals also answer to their respective disciplinary boards. These panels are composed of colleagues, bureaucrats, and outsiders, and they decide whether professionals should be punished for infractions of the profession’s code of conduct.

Doctors are under especially close attention. Violating confidentiality. Writing excessive prescriptions. Sleeping with patients. All these things can lead medical boards to institute fines, restrict medical privileges, or even permanently revoke licenses.

Drug abuse among most common reasons for sanctions

Drug abuse is one of the leading reasons for medical sanctions. Evidence that a doctor is drinking on the job or using any illicit drug could lead to mandatory rehab and a suspended license. A California neurosurgeon was recently accused by the state medical board of smoking marijuana constantly, even between surgeries.

But what about doctors who only use at home? There things get trickier. In 2012 Colorado medical authorities decreed that any doctor using medical marijuana to treat a chronic condition must stop treating patients until the medicinal cannabis is no longer needed.

The rules are less clear on recreational cannabis. But it’s safe to say most if not all states, including those with legalization, prohibit physicians from consuming marijuana in almost all circumstances, on or off call.

How does cannabis affect medical competence?

Sadly, there isn’t much data to determine exactly how cannabis affects medical competence. The drug can interfere with certain cognitive functions and can sometimes cause tremors, among other potential problems for a practicing physician.

The best advice for most doctors in most places is simple: Either stay away from marijuana or keep your use as low-key as possible. Drug tests are always possible once a disciplinary proceeding is underway, so it’s best to assume you’re always in danger of discovery.

The situation is easier for lawyers. Of course, attorneys are barred from using cannabis wherever it’s illegal under state law. But the rules get hazier when federal law comes into play. Marijuana is illegal for any use under federal anti-drug statutes.

In Colorado, at least, lawyers are clear to use cannabis anyway. They are also free to represent clients who trade in cannabis, regardless of the federal laws that ban it. Of course, any allegation that an attorney is using on the job would open the door to serious penalties.

Can Doctors and Lawyers Toke?

Study: More Teens Vape THC

File this under news everyone already knew: A new report says teenagers are increasingly using their e-cigarettes to vape marijuana rather than nicotine.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that more young tokers are re-purposing vape pens for use with marijuana. Liquid nicotine is easily replaced with hash oil, wax, and other liquid cannabis concentrates, the study concluded.

Researchers asked nearly 4,000 Connecticut high school students about their drug use. Youngsters use vape pens with marijuana at a rate 27 times higher than that of adult vapers, the study found. Cannabis is legal for medical use in Connecticut, but teens are not allowed to buy e-cigarettes there.

“The rates were a little bit surprising, especially in a state where it’s illegal to sell e-cigarettes to kids,” said Meghan Morean, a professor of psychiatry and psychology who co-authored the report. “They’re using them at pretty considerable rates.”

Vaporizing more popular among young users

Of course, this isn’t news to anyone who regularly uses either marijuana or e-cigarettes. Vape pens are most popular among young people, both cannabis and nicotine consumers. The fact that more teens are using the pens to consume marijuana doesn’t mean they’re actually consuming more marijuana; other studies have showed that isn’t the case.

The new survey found that 30 percent of the Connecticut students said they have tried cannabis in some form. Roughly 5.5 percent said they had used a vape pen to consume marijuana. Of those who already smoked marijuana, 18 percent said they had vaped THC.

The study took a decidedly negative view of vaping and marijuana in general, declaring that vape pens could contain spectacular concentrations of THC. Anyone who has ever vaped hash oil knows that while it can lead to real intoxication, it isn’t heroin. There is no magical “super” cannabis oil.

Lack of research on effects of vaping

Researchers also complained that there isn’t yet enough evidence to support vaping as a healthy alternative to smoking. Actually, a study released just days earlier found that the evidence of vape safety is compelling.

“The relative safety of vaping marijuana versus smoking it is not well established,” Morean insisted. “One of the things that is different, it doesn’t smell as strong as when you smoke it.”

That seems to be the central complaint, in fact, of police and health care workers: that vapes are too easy to conceal. A recent scare story on CNN breathlessly reported that hospitals were swamped with addicts vaping synthetic cannabis through e-cigarettes. The story offered no statistical data to support this supposed flood of vape crimes.

Vaping is likely an effective and unobtrusive way to consume both nicotine and marijuana. Some people use the pens to smoke other substances, just like some people will use any available materials to smoke whatever they can get their hands on.

What matters, really, isn’t whether teenage marijuana smokers are switching to vapes. It’s whether teenagers are doing more things that are bad for their health. And this study doesn’t suggest they are.

Study: More Teens Vape THC

Indian Tribes Are Jumping into Legal Marijuana

Late last year, the Obama administration quietly announced a new policy that would allow American Indian reservations to decide for themselves whether they want to legalize marijuana for personal use.

The decision made a few waves, but it mostly went unnoticed. What difference could it make if a reservation here or a reservation there lets members grow, sell, and use cannabis within tribal boundaries?

Well, as it turns out, quite a lot – especially when you consider all the white people living nearby.

Just one or two tribes have acted on the idea yet, but dozens of others are already talking about it. And it could be just a matter of months before the first legal marijuana is available on an Indian reservation.

Flandreau Sioux Tribe makes the first move

That would be the Flandreau Sioux Tribe in eastern South Dakota. Tribal leaders voted earlier this year to start a program for cultivation, sale, and recreational use of cannabis on the reservation by January. It would make Flandreau the first tribe in the United States to fully legalize marijuana.

The drug would also be available as medicine to reservation patients, but the chief attraction would be a first-of-its-kind marijuana lounge, complete with music, games, food, and cannabis. The drug would sell only in small amounts, 1 gram at a time, and customers would be held to a strict 2-gram maximum per day.

Low sale limits

That’s not a lot of marijuana, and there’s a reason for it. Police and civic leaders in nearby Flandreau, S.D. – not to mention state leaders and lawmakers – are aghast at the idea of legal marijuana in a South Dakota town. Cannabis is strictly forbidden for any use under state law, and even simple possession is a crime.

So tribal leaders plan to clamp down tight on off-reservation smuggling by limiting daily consumption. Police have as much as said they’ll be swarming the exits of the reservation once the program opens.

The Flandreau Sioux reservation is remote, hundreds of miles from any major city, but it’s not as remote as it might seem – and that’s one reason the tribe’s plans could have wider implications. Flandreau sits near two interstates, I-29 and I-90, and is just miles from the Minnesota line. Iowa, North Dakota, and Nebraska are a short drive away.

“There’s great economic advantages, and medicinal value,” said Tony Reider, the tribe’s president. “Plus, with any business venture, the first to market can corner the market early.”

Addiction is an existing problems among tribes

Legal cannabis isn’t an easy sell on many Indian reservations, where alcoholism and addiction are major problems. But legalization offers two things almost all tribes badly need: improved medical care and money.

In Wisconsin, the Menominee Tribe recently held a public referendum to decide whether to legalize. Nearly 60 percent of residents said yes, while 77 percent said they want medical marijuana. The tribal council now must draft legislation and decide whether to move forward.

There is plenty of opposition to Native American marijuana. White local leaders insist it will bring crime and impaired driving, while state politicians fear they’ll miss out on a windfall, since tribes aren’t subject to sales taxes.

Indian reservations exist outside of state jurisdiction

But there isn’t much they can do. Indian reservations interact with the U.S. government through formal treaties and fall outside the jurisdiction of the states.

Cops in Flandreau and Wisconsin have said they plan to ramp up enforcement in town. That could make leaving the reservation a risky proposition for visitors – and even for residents. It could even encourage greater racial profiling by police.

But there’s one thing it’s sure to do, and that’s the most important: It’s going to bring legalization somewhere new. And once Minnesotans and Iowans and Nebraskans and Dakotans can drive a few hours for legal marijuana, how long will it be before their own states give up the game?

Indian Tribes Are Jumping into Legal Marijuana

Surgeon Toked on the Job: Complaint

A California neurosurgeon allegedly used marijuana between operations, according to a professional complaint filed against her.

The Medical Board of California formally accused Dr. Gunjan Goel, a surgeon at the University of California San Diego, of practicing medicine while under the influence of cannabis. Goel used the drug at the office and at home, the complaint says.

“She uses it daily, while at work, and on call,” the Medical Board alleged in the complaint, which was filed Aug. 26.

Board members launched an investigation in May 2014 after they received a complaint about Goel’s marijuana use. Eight months later, a state investigator approached the doctor in her apartment’s parking lot and asked for a sample of her hair.

Admission of occasional marijuana use

Goel allegedly told the investigator the hair would test positive for THC because she sometimes smokes cannabis on her days off. In a later interview, she admitted to toking three or four times between July and December 2014.

The filing didn’t indicate whether there was further evidence that Goel was using on a daily basis. The board said she “repeatedly” possessed a controlled substance and engaged in unprofessional conduct.

Strangely, Goel allegedly told investigators she didn’t have a legal medical marijuana card or recommendation. These are easy to get in California, even for recreational consumers, though they may carry some risk of exposing doctors who use.

Goel could lose her medical license

Goel was not charged with a crime as of early September. Medical misconduct is a professional allegation rather than a criminal charge, so at most, Goel could be fined and stripped of her medical license.

But prosecution might not be out of the question, as there are typically criminal statutes that protect patients from doctors who are high. The Medical Board did not openly accuse Goel of harming patients or risking their safety, but the mere proof of drug use could be enough to end her career.

That’s especially true since she’s a neurosurgeon. Good surgeons are prized for their steady hands, and regular marijuana use can cause mild tremors that could make the job impossible.

American professional boards are only beginning to struggle with the issue of marijuana use by members. Lawyers in some states are protected if they use legal marijuana or represent clients who trade in it, but in most places, health care professionals of all stripes can lose their licenses over drug use.

The open question is whether Goel’s alleged cannabis use caused any harm or impeded her in her job. But even if it didn’t, it would be hard for a neurosurgeon to keep practicing once patients and other doctors know she uses – even if the use isn’t out of hand.

Surgeon Toked on the Job: Complaint

What Would Donald Trump Mean for MJ?

Donald Trump doesn’t like to be pinned down. Just when you think you’ve got him nailed on a political position, he turns around and says exactly the opposite. This is one reason marijuana proponents have good reason to fear him: Even if he backs legalization now, there’s no guarantee that won’t change in a month.

But what has The Donald actually said about legalizing marijuana? And assuming he gets elected (he won’t), what would a Trump White House actually mean for cannabis users across the country?

The best answer may be, who knows? As with most things, Trump has been vague and contradictory on the subject. Early in his career, he said he supported legalization. Later, he backed away from that and said he wouldn’t allow cannabis for personal use. But we do know he backs medical marijuana.

Support for medical marijuana

“Medical marijuana is another thing,” he said earlier this year. “I think medical marijuana, 100 percent.”

Part of the problem is that Trump hasn’t spent much time on serious discussions of criminal justice reform. He prefers to stick to red-meat populist topics: immigration, Obamacare, incumbents in Washington.

Once upon a time, The Donald was a big supporter of all-around legalization. It was the first Bush administration, the war on drugs wasn’t working, and legalization was still considered a contrarian approach – exactly the kind that appeals to Trump.

“We’re losing badly the war on drugs,” he said in 1990. “You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars. . . . What I’d like to do maybe by bringing it up is cause enough controversy that you get into a dialogue on the issue of drugs so people will start to realize that this is the only answer; there is no other answer.”

Of course, it’s impossible to peer into Trump’s mind, so it’s impossible to know whether he really meant those words. His work in real estate hasn’t given him a lot of opportunities to prove it by legalizing recreational drugs.

Contradictory comments to conservative audience

His comments in February at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference may give marijuana proponents more pause. Facing a decidedly right-wing audience, Trump said any legalization would be a mistake.

“I think it’s bad, and I feel strongly about that,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of problems going on right now in Colorado, some big problems.” Naturally, those words were subject to revision when Trump was asked whether he would uphold states’ rights to change cannabis laws: “If they vote for it, they vote for it.”

The best way to know whether Trump would push for legalization is to ask him, directly, during this campaign. Presumably that will happen at a debate before his candidacy flames out, but even then, there’s reason to take his answers with a grain of salt.

Donald Trump makes a living out of telling people what they want to hear. He does it better than he does anything else. And that means much of what he says is going to change, probably by a lot, depending on what makes him popular and what doesn’t. If he can rile one crowd by opposing reform and another by supporting it, expect him to do both.

What Would Donald Trump Mean for MJ?

College Students Toke More: Study

The rate of U.S. College students who use pot every day is rising rapidly, even as tobacco use falls, according to a new study.

The survey, from the University of Michigan, found more students now smoke cannabis than cigarettes. It’s the first time those tables have turned.

The study, released in September, concluded that about 40 percent of undergrads used drugs of some kind in 2014. That reflects an increase of 6 percent over the year before. Most of the spike came from increased cannabis use, but cocaine consumption is also rising, the study said.

College cannabis use rising

Collegiate marijuana smoking has steadily increased since the first laws allowing recreational use. The rise accelerated after 2006, the study concluded. More students now consume the drug daily than at any time since the study was first conducted in 1980.

“There’s no question that marijuana use has risen considerably,” said Lloyd Johnston, principal investigator for the Michigan study. “In December, we released results on secondary-school students, and we’re seeing a rise in daily marijuana use there as well.”

Contradictory to similar studies

That claim is directly contradicted by other recent studies, which found no notable increase in teen marijuana use since the advent of legalization. But the studies agree on one thing: Students have a more positive attitude toward cannabis. Just 35 percent called regular toking dangerous, a drop of 20 percentage points since 2006.

While almost 6 percent of college students report using cannabis daily or almost daily, just 5 percent say they smoke cigarettes each day. Use of e-cigarettes was not tracked in the study.

Of course, the results exist mostly in the interpretation. Increased marijuana smoking by college students may mean less alcohol consumption, which in turn would mean safer roads and less crowded emergency rooms. So the increase, if real, isn’t exactly dire news.

Hard drug use increasing

The real downside to the report is that use of hard drugs is also on a steady climb. Amphetamines, including prescription medications, are increasingly being abused by students cramming for exams.

Even so, drug use remains decidedly uncommon among youngsters. Roughly half the study’s subjects reported no illicit drug use of any kind in the year before it was conducted. Even more, 75 percent, said they hadn’t used in the preceding month.

Some drugs are on the decline, including two considered especially dangerous: salvia divinorum and synthetic marijuana. Other so-called “research chemicals” were never popular with undergrads to begin with.

Thankfully, risky binge drinking is also becoming less common. Binging means imbibing five or more drinks in one sitting; it’s known to be the most damaging form of alcohol abuse. Five percent of the students said they go on super-binges, downing 15 or more drinks. Still, it’s possible college aggravates this problem, as fewer non-students binge.

“There are still a sizable number of students who consume alcohol at particularly dangerous levels,” Johnston said.

College Students Toke More: Study

MJ Expos Are Now Big Business

If there’s one thing the marijuana community loves (aside from marijuana), it’s a good trade show. Cannabis expos have exploded in recent years, playing a critical role in political reform and introducing stoners to some of the best products available.

The big ones are legend: The Cannabis Cup, HempFest, the Emerald Cup, all draw some of the best talent and product in the business. There are major expos almost everywhere that marijuana is legal, with the possible exception of Alaska.

Colorado hosts the premier American event by High Times, the Denver Cannabis Cup. Seattle is home to HempFest. Even in California, where marijuana remains illegal for personal use, large marijuana-oriented gatherings are common up and down the coast.

But there are trade shows that are less well-known to the general public, such as the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition in Los Angeles, or the Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Fest in Wisconsin – where cannabis possession remains a crime. As these festivals grow, more will come.

What t0 expect at a cannabis convention

What’s in store for the average expo-goer? It depends largely on the setting and local laws. At a Cannabis Cup convention in Colorado for example, you’re free to buy and sample product as long as you’re an adult.

It’s a little harder to light up if you’re in California or another state without legalization. There, you usually have to have proof that you’re a medical patient. That’s easy to get, but it does add a layer of hassle to the experience.

Most expos celebrate a particular aspect of the marijuana business. The Cannabis Cup pits the world’s best strains against each other, HempFest is advertised as the world’s biggest outdoor marijuana party, and the Emerald Cup focuses on organically grown cannabis.

Professional networking opportunities at the CWCB

On a smaller scale, the Cannabis World Congress expo is all about green business opportunities and industry networking. It’s geared toward professionals and entrepreneurs, providing classes, exhibits, products, and services on everything from accounting to vaporizers.

Expos are a critical means for cannabis businesses to build cultivation, distribution, and retail networks. The legal marijuana industry is still very young, and the rush of new businesses means a need for large business-oriented gatherings.

Of course, many expos are also an excuse to use cannabis. Rules about where and when attendees can toke vary from festival to festival, and in some places consumption is strictly forbidden at public gatherings.

Expos first started appearing around the United States in larger numbers in the 2000s; there were already strain competitions in the Netherlands, but the adoption of medical marijuana in California in 1996 opened the door for expos here.

The next generation of marijuana festivals will likely come on the East Coast, where at least one state could legalize by next year. The area is mostly bereft of public cannabis events, aside from 420 parties and the like.

In the meantime, legal marijuana providers can find contacts, education, and business advice from the Cannabis World Congress, which meets Sept. 17 and 18, as well as other business-friendly expos.

MJ Expos Are Now Big Business