Legalized Marijuana and the FAA
 

I was reading that by the end of this year that roughly half the states could have legalized recreational marijuana. I also read that it looks now that President Trump and Senator Schumer are both open to and actively looking to decriminalize it on a federal level.

The question is when and if that does happen on a national scale what will the FAA do in regards to regulation in the field of aviation?

I suspect that after an exhaustive, lengthy (and most likely asinine) study period where they spend millions paying guys to get stoned and go play in a simulator, they will establish some testable level of THC that can be present in the blood or urine. Or time periods like certain medications. Planes won't fall from the sky and pilots won't be raiding the snack bars at airports above previous levels. Life will go on.

Good.

MMJ is much healthier than alcohol, depending on how it is ingested.

Safer for FO’s and FA’s also....

(Too soon?)

Also a reliable means of testing that detects THC present in the bloodstream has yet to be developed. Urinalysis detects THC weeks after the effects are gone.

There’s already a test to determine if someone is under the influence of marijuana.

Put them in a waiting room with a bowl of Cheetos. If the Cheetos are gone when the test administrator re-enters, they fail.

Imagine if some of these baby boomer pilots were able to smoke a joint every now and then. It would be like a metamorphosis for some of these people.

It's easier to say no. Government employees (generally) aren't renowned for their motivation to go above and beyond. My guess is no weed for pilots for a VERY long time. I retire in 18 years. I'll bet a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos that my 1st joint will probably be the day after I retire and not a day sooner (or later).

On a side note, does anyone else have a problem being tested by a guy with a backpack in a public restroom? These "testers" or duty gazers as we called them in the military probably have 1.5 hours of CBT's to become qualified collectors.

How about the CBD oil? Any idea if that will cause a positive test. They’re selling it as a great pain reliever.

I’ve never smoked anything and I’d fail that test 9 times out of 10. Love me some Cheetos!

Result:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HNMq8XS4LhE

Just because it's legal does not mean the government and/or employers can't restrict it's use.

With alcohol it's easy to measure if someone is likely impaired, or at least there's a known equitable, empirical standard that you have to meet.

Until a similar test exists for THC impairment, I would expect it's use to be banned by all in safety-sensitive positions. The current test just shows whether you blazed up within the last month or so.

Absolutely. I had a guy say he drove in just to test me. It was just him and his little bag. It was extremely unsettling.

Yeah, seems very unprofessional. I remember testing being done in a more controlled environment, lab or clinic setting.
Why the ambush style, march to the bathroom, whip out or else....?

Ding ding ding!

I know the answer:

I’m always amazed at people who post stupid stuff on Facebook or Instagram showing them drunk as a 9-eyed skunk, and a while later they start crying about their drug tests.

“Random,” my ass. People with stupid social media stuff get tested way more often.

(A surprising number of people will post anything and everything there. No filter installed.)

Can confirm that as management scum. The reasoning is simple the company is responsible for your actions. So when you blaze up and hurt Joe Public in a related or unrelated incident, it costs the company.

I like my bonus and some weed smoking employee making the news costs me money. Managers like $$$ just as much as pilots.

It’s understandable.

Lawyers could have a field day with some of the posts I have seen. At least the company covers its ass when it can produce clean drug tests. (And probably fire some idiots who really are drunk/high.)

I just don’t get why anyone posts stupid crap on social media like that. I guess younger generations think it won’t matter. Maybe they really think only their ‘friends’ can see it.

Either way, they are wrong.

Yes it will cause a positive test.

Drug testers must have given up scope.

Now its outsourced to kids wearing earbuds carrying backpacks to work.......

I have a bong waiting for the day ... Less than 2 years to go ... Regular Doritos for me. :cool:

Remember the good ol' days when mention of the "pot hole on Main Street" referred to asphalt damage?

Common sense must be legislated because too many members of our profession think some rules don't apply to them. If and when the DOT can come up with way to test/control the use of marijuana, and the trend continues toward permissiveness, it'll happen.

Schumer can have his pipe dream, but it ain’t happening at the Federal level. The bureaucracy from DEA to the penitentiary system has way too much budget involved to let go. Business isn’t to only group with lobbyists.


GF

I've heard they make 100% thc free cbd oil.

Watching someone pee is scarcely rocket science. Gathering it may be a hit or miss proposition, but neither is likely to cause a false positive.

They also split the sample so if it is positive you get round 2 with no issues. If that is positive you have the option of more exacting testing (e.g. hair). Nobody is failing tests due to the test they are failing cause they due drugs.

Colorado is one of the lucky states in America who has been legalized the marijuana. And i don't see any problem about this because it gives us a lot of benefits upon checking the net I saw this article Cannabis Is Legal In DC, But Not For Everyone - GreenMed that Colorado is one of the few places where cannabis consumption for funsies is allowed. It’s not that way for everyone though. Cannabis is still a Schedule I drug, so naturally, this makes things a little complicated for people living in public housing, but it helps the industry also

Due they now how too spell when they due drugs?

Checkmate....

wrong you are

He's right... sometimes. Depends on which CBD oil you use, and how much.

The military bans it because they don't want drug test results being questioned because of claims of CBD use.

If you pop positive on a DOT test, waving a bottle pf CBD in their face is not going to save your job. But the upside is you can smoke anything you want after the FAA shreds your certs.

Do whatever you want. Grow a beard, stick your head out of the flight deck window and take a selfie, go to Denver and eat some edibles. Just be sure to post it online.

Frankly, it does not bother me one bit. People like that allow for more movement in seniority lists, make room in the industry for those who actually deserve it, and make me look good. As a former check airman told me, "Don't complain about the idiots in our pilot group. Without them, we might be in the bottom half of the bell curve."

It's a pretty interesting thought experiment.

If (and that's a big if) marijuana is completely legalized, for argument's sake, does the FAA or an employer have the right to dictate that a pilot may not, under any circumstance, partake in it's use? Let's say that Wayfarer Airlines instituted a strict 'no alcohol' policy for it's flight crew. No crewmember may, at any time while employed, ingest alcohol. And there are random tests conducted that could detect use as far back as 90 days. Would they have a legal leg to stand on?

Certainly there would be limitations on it's recency of use or the prohibition of actually being impaired while operating just like with alcohol currently. But even with the 8-hour rule, you need some very specific evidence to catch someone on that. Like eyewitnesses or video that proves it was ingested within the window (which I'm sure has happened). More likely, people get caught for actually being impaired and get violated on that. With the detection window for marijuana use so broad, would it be legal to jam someone up for, say, smoking over a vacation period 6 weeks prior?

I think there may be a lot of interesting legal trials if this actually comes to fruition.

Nothing interesting at all. Just because it's not illegal doesn't mean you have some inherent right to use it. An employer could certainly ban the use of any substance they wanted, particularly for safety-sensitive employees.

An employer could ban all alcohol use as well, but then they would have trouble finding employees, and the public would think they were over the top. At least one airline bans nicotine use (although it's only enforced at the time of hire).

Actually DOT would maintain the current ban anyway, unless someone came up with a way to measure actual impairment, like a breathalyzer (current tests just show if you've used it in the last month or so).

They can only ban you from using a substance or being under the influence of a substance when you are ON DUTY, but they cannot ban you from using a LEGAL substance when you are off duty. But most on this board will be retired before any policy allows an airline pilot to use any form marijuana. First, the federal government has to allow it, then the DOT must create some type of regulation, then an employer would either have to allow it, or an employee would have to challenge the policy in court.

Sure they can. Just because it's legal doesn't mean employers have to let you do it.

The first amendment ensures that free speech is legal, but try speaking freely in public about your employer in a negative light and see how long you last. Employers can do almost anything that's not PROHIBITED by law... if you don't like you can always quit.

The DOT/FAA can too. They prohibit pilots from taking numerous otherwise legal drugs while exercising the privileges of their certificates.

A friend of mine had major surgery and was out for a few months. They used cbd cartridges from a legal dispensary to reduce the use of opioid pain meds. They had the blessing of their doctor. If you go to a legal dispensary and ask for cbd for pain, it usually has a small percentage of thc. Look up "entourage effect of cbd/thc". My friend used the 10 to 1 cbd/thc vape cartridges for about 6 weeks after surgery while using much smaller amounts of prescribed opioids. 5-10 puffs a day. It also comes in other forms like lozenges and oil. When you are done with pain mitigation, You can go to Walmart and buy a THC drug test kit for $12. Pee in the cup after 5 mins you will know if you pass. Don't go to work till you pass. If you don't pass, wait a week and do it again. I've read it can 4-6 weeks of being pot free for chronic users of regular pot which has high thc to pass a pee test. Watch the last CNN episode "Weed 4" for some current info on medical use of pot.

It works and opioids can be very bad. No one has died from a pot OD. But I think it will be years before the feds will loosen the control of it. AG Jeff Sessions is a big obstacle right now. I'm sure Big Pharma lobbyists are against it too.

Good advice, I agree it's far less risky than opioids. Although this only works if you have a significant medical condition that allows to stay out on med leave. Ongoing use for routine aches and pains could be dangerous career-wise.

I’m for just about anything that gets people off of opioid pain killers. Those things are so addictive and are ruining lives.

However, what you are saying would involve lying on your medical certificate application.

The marijuana laws are way out of whack with logic and public opinion