Can private practice dentists smoke marijuana?

[dattaker2018]

As the title says, in a state where marijuana is legal, can a dentist smoke marijuana if he/she owns a private practice?

I'm obviously not talking about smoking while on the job, as I'm sure that's an easy way to lose your license to practice.

Do private practice dentists get drug tested?

I searched on the forums for a while but couldn't find many posts on this topic.

Thanks!

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[Bingwen]

As the title says, in a state where marijuana is legal, can a dentist smoke marijuana if he/she owns a private practice?

I'm obviously not talking about smoking while on the job, as I'm sure that's an easy way to lose your license to practice.

Do private practice dentists get drug tested?

I searched on the forums for a while but couldn't find many posts on this topic.

Thanks!

I don't think you would ever be drug tested as a private dentist. But understand if a patient, employee or another dentist reports you the ADA does have a statement:

"Personal Impairment. It is unethical for a dentist to practice while abusing controlled substances, alcohol or other chemical agents which impair the ability to practice. All dentists have an ethical obligation to urge chemically impaired colleagues to seek treatment. Dentists with first-hand knowledge that a colleague is practicing dentistry when so impaired have an ethical responsibility to report such evidence to the professional assistance committee of a dental society."

I imagine that your license could still be stripped if they do a drug test and it is positive. It isn't legal federally. Best thing would to check with a licensing board if you want the exact answer.

 

[dattaker2018]

I don't think you would ever be drug tested as a private dentist. But understand if a patient, employee or another dentist reports you the ADA does have a statement:

"Personal Impairment. It is unethical for a dentist to practice while abusing controlled substances, alcohol or other chemical agents which impair the ability to practice. All dentists have an ethical obligation to urge chemically impaired colleagues to seek treatment. Dentists with first-hand knowledge that a colleague is practicing dentistry when so impaired have an ethical responsibility to report such evidence to the professional assistance committee of a dental society."

I imagine that your license could still be stripped if they do a drug test and it is positive. It isn't legal federally. Best thing would to check with a licensing board if you want the exact answer.

Wouldn't that statement only hold true if the Dentist was under the influence while at work? The statement you quoted specifically mentions that it's unethical if it impairs the ability to practice, but it doesn't say anything about during leisure time.

Don't take this as arguing with you, I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Bingwen]

Wouldn't that statement only hold true if the Dentist was under the influence while at work? The statement you quoted specifically mentions that it's unethical if it impairs the ability to practice, but it doesn't say anything about during leisure time.

Don't take this as arguing with you, I'm genuinely curious.

My only thought there is that if the drug test you they can't tell when you smoked only that you have THC in your system and that you practiced. I truly do not know though so again your best bet might be to contact CODA or the ADA to get an exact answer.

 

[Advance]

If you own your own practice I wouldn’t think you would get drug tested. If you worked at a corporate office or as an associate I could see that happening though.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

It is currently illegal to have marijuana in your system at the federal level. Considering you’ll have a national licensure, I would assume you should follow the federal guidelines that apply to the entire USA just like the ADA isn’t bound to specific states.

 

[dattaker2018]

It is currently illegal to have marijuana in your system at the federal level. Considering you’ll have a national licensure, I would assume you should follow the federal guidelines that apply to the entire USA just like the ADA isn’t bound to specific states.

That's a good point.

 

[Stanelz]

What has SDN become. Lord help us.

 

[cooliyak]

It is currently illegal to have marijuana in your system at the federal level. Considering you’ll have a national licensure, I would assume you should follow the federal guidelines that apply to the entire USA just like the ADA isn’t bound to specific states.

Actually, dental licenses are not “national” at all. They are very much state specific as are the laws that you are held to while practicing (unless you are practicing at a federal facility or a facility that receives federal funding). I would say you are safe unless the people/company that you are working for has a problem with it and specifically mentions it in a contract. The only precaution if you work for yourself in private practice is how you handle emergency/on call/after hours situations. If you choose to handle those situations by going in after hours for an emergency patient, I would strongly suggest not smoking or drinking very much on your off-time since you never know when those situations may arise. If you don’t do that or trust yourself enough to tell your patients when you can’t, then let your conscience be your guide.
And side note, the ADA has no actually authority over dentists, especially if you aren’t a member, so their statement on this is just simply a statement. CODA and the ADA have nothing to do with this. The state dental board of the specific state you practice in/are going to practice in is who you need to talk to about laws since they are the ones who are in charge of enforcing them as well as granting/stripping licenses.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

Actually, dental licenses are not “national” at all. They are very much state specific as are the laws that you are held to while practicing (unless you are practicing at a federal facility or a facility that receives federal funding). I would say you are safe unless the people/company that you are working for has a problem with it and specifically mentions it in a contract. The only precaution if you work for yourself in private practice is how you handle emergency/on call/after hours situations. If you choose to handle those situations by going in after hours for an emergency patient, I would strongly suggest not smoking or drinking very much on your off-time since you never know when those situations may arise. If you don’t do that or trust yourself enough to tell your patients when you can’t, then let your conscience be your guide.
And side note, the ADA has no actually authority over dentists, especially if you aren’t a member, so their statement on this is just simply a statement. CODA and the ADA have nothing to do with this. The state dental board of the specific state you practice in/are going to practice in is who you need to talk to about laws since they are the ones who are in charge of enforcing them as well as granting/stripping licenses.

Great point and I expected a response after I mentioned ADA. Should’ve just left my comment that it is illegal at the federal level.

Everyone is entitled to decisions with their own body but I would recommend people think twice violating a federal law especially when it’s guaranteed that a healthcare professional gets sued at least once or twice in their lifetime. If an unsatisfied patient claims negligence and tells your malpractice insurance I suspect he is using drugs (maybe just because the patient hates you enough due to your attitude) what happens? You’ll fail the drug test and your insurance skyrockets.

Maybe I’m wrong. That’s just what I thought.

Edit: Now pretend you get a lawyer and refuse to take a drug test. What will insurance do? What happens when a journalist reports that in the paper?

Also, I thought ADA was mandated and that those code of ethics like “Don’t cause harm to a patient.” were mandatory. I feel like it should be, but we were taught it was. Wouldn’t you lose your license if you violate them?

 

[cooliyak]

Great point and I expected a response after I mentioned ADA. Should’ve just left my comment that it is illegal at the federal level.

Everyone is entitled to decisions with their own body but I would recommend people think twice violating a federal law especially when it’s guaranteed that a healthcare professional gets sued at least once or twice in their lifetime. If an unsatisfied patient claims negligence and tells your malpractice insurance I suspect he is using drugs (maybe just because the patient hates you enough due to your attitude) what happens? You’ll fail the drug test and your insurance skyrockets.

Maybe I’m wrong. That’s just what I thought.

Edit: Now pretend you get a lawyer and refuse to take a drug test. What will insurance do? What happens when a journalist reports that in the paper?

Also, I thought ADA was mandated and that those code of ethics like “Don’t cause harm to a patient.” were mandatory. I feel like it should be, but we were taught it was. Wouldn’t you lose your license if you violate them?

I won’t respond to the first half of your comment because I don’t necessarily disagree. I do think that healthcare professionals should think twice before most things just by the nature of the profession, but if someone wants to, I don’t think anything is legally stopping them (assuming you are in a state where that is legal such as the original post).
As far as the ADA is concerned, membership is not mandatory nor should it be. All the ADA is, is an association who represents its members to the public. If you are not a member, you are not obligated to anything having to deal with them. In fact, the ADA membership “market share” (the percentage of dentists in the US who are members) has been falling steadily over the past decade or so due to dentists who leave over various issues. Their power comes in numbers with advocating for different issues, but if you disagree with them or don’t believe they represent your interests, you have every right to leave the organization. State dental boards will look to them every now and then for guidance on a policy or law to implement (such as they did with sedation guidelines a few years ago), but that has more to do with the lack of resources/time that binds the dental board, so they appeal to an authority figure (which is a logical fallacy, I might add) to come up with guidelines for them to implement.
As far as ethics are concerned. If you are unethical, you should absolutely have your license taken away or have some sort of disciplinary action taken against you, but that has very little to do with the ADA and their code of ethics. The ADA’s code of ethics is just a call for their members to hold a higher ethical standard for themselves than the rest of the public/non-member dentists. But it’s written so broadly that most professionals should be abiding by it anyway. The “do no harm” statement that you referenced is the “nonmaleficence” part of generic professional ethical principles. That has been around for WAY longer than the ADA and their code of ethics.

 

[Bingwen]

I thought that the ADA and CODA had more power, thanks for the information. So I dug a little bit into Colorado because I am interested in how this all works. According to the laws, so far as I can tell, they say:

The board may take disciplinary action against an applicant or licensee in accordance with section 12-35-129.1 for any of the following causes:
(d) Conviction of a violation of a federal or state law regulating the possession, distribution, or use of a controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), C.R.S., and, in determining if a license should be denied, revoked, or suspended or if the licensee should be placed on probation, the board shall be governed by section 24-5-101, C.R.S.;

(e) Habitually abusing or excessively using alcohol, a habit-forming drug, or a controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), C.R.S.;

(f) Misusing a drug or controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), C.R.S.;

18-18-102 includes marijuana as a controlled substance unless there is an updated one that I can't find.

So again I don't see anyone showing up to your office demanding that you take a drug test. But if a patient feels wronged or feels that you didn't provide adequet care they could report you. Because marijuana stays in your system for so long I don't know if they would just assume that you were practicing while under the influence. This whole thing seems kind of muddy on how it would work.

 

[cooliyak]

I thought that the ADA and CODA had more power, thanks for the information. So I dug a little bit into Colorado because I am interested in how this all works. According to the laws, so far as I can tell, they say:

The board may take disciplinary action against an applicant or licensee in accordance with section 12-35-129.1 for any of the following causes:
(d) Conviction of a violation of a federal or state law regulating the possession, distribution, or use of a controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), C.R.S., and, in determining if a license should be denied, revoked, or suspended or if the licensee should be placed on probation, the board shall be governed by section 24-5-101, C.R.S.;

(e) Habitually abusing or excessively using alcohol, a habit-forming drug, or a controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), C.R.S.;

(f) Misusing a drug or controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), C.R.S.;

18-18-102 includes marijuana as a controlled substance unless there is an updated one that I can't find.

So again I don't see anyone showing up to your office demanding that you take a drug test. But if a patient feels wronged or feels that you didn't provide adequet care they could report you. Because marijuana stays in your system for so long I don't know if they would just assume that you were practicing while under the influence. This whole thing seems kind of muddy on how it would work.

The whole thing is muddy in general anyway because you have state laws allowing something prohibited by federal law.
CODA stands for the Commission On Dental Accreditation. All they do is develop standards by which to accredit dental educational programs. The ADA is only an association. Neither of those have authority to license or to determine anything having to do with licensure specifically (although to get a license, you have to have completed a CODA accredited dental program, but that is more indirectly related to what we are talking about now). I could go a lot more into it, but that’ll do for now. The state dental board has all the power. They set their licensing standards, they issue licenses, they investigate issues and enforce disciplinary actions against dentists, they pull licenses, etc. Aside from setting the law that gives them power to act for the public in the first place, they are the ones who govern all of the dentists in your state.
By the way, I currently practice in Colorado, for whatever that’s worth.

 

[Bingwen]

The whole thing is muddy in general anyway because you have state laws allowing something prohibited by federal law.
CODA stands for the Commission On Dental Accreditation. All they do is develop standards by which to accredit dental educational programs. The ADA is only an association. Neither of those have authority to license or to determine anything having to do with licensure specifically (although to get a license, you have to have completed a CODA accredited dental program, but that is more indirectly related to what we are talking about now). I could go a lot more into it, but that’ll do for now. The state dental board has all the power. They set their licensing standards, they issue licenses, they investigate issues and enforce disciplinary actions against dentists, they pull licenses, etc. Aside from setting the law that gives them power to act for the public in the first place, they are the ones who govern all of the dentists in your state.
By the way, I currently practice in Colorado, for whatever that’s worth.

Other than a patient complaint is there any way that you can think of that would lead to problems for a dentist that smokes?

 

[jLaws]

Not unless you decide to drug test yourself. It's your business.

 

[jLaws]

Other than a patient complaint is there any way that you can think of that would lead to problems for a dentist that smokes?

I'm a medical lab scientist and my fiance is an ICU nurse we don't get drug tested (but I do the testing 😉) We know a lot of professionals including doctors that smoke. To most adults it's not a big deal unless you're the Ned Flanders type. I say feel free and keep it on the DL.

 

[aggie-master]

I am an owner and have never been drug tested. I think the only way I would ever get tested is if a patient complained to my state dental board that they thought I was on drugs while treating them.

I live in a state where you can get arrested for a small amount of marijuana and that could be really bad for business, but if I lived in a state like Colorado I think you would be fine to smoke marijuana as long as you were never impaired while working.

As far as emergency calls on the weekend if you have any alcohol or other drug in your system just say no or tell them you can meet them tomorrow. I say no frequently due to being out of town or sometimes because it is a pain in the butt patient. Sometimes I just call something in if I am unable to get to the office or if the patient is out of town.

 

[cooliyak]

Other than a patient complaint is there any way that you can think of that would lead to problems for a dentist that smokes?

As others have said, not really. Either patients or colleagues turning you in is all.

 

[setdoc7]

Although your state dental license is governed by the individual dental boards, your DEA certificate is governed by a federal agency. Most dentists have this certificate in order to prescribe controlled substances to their patients. This could be a point of contention should you be found to test positive for THC, for whatever reason, which could be as simple as a blood test for insurance reasons, or a routine doctor visit. Information is shared through many channels, so buyer beware. Unlike an HIV test, which requires a specific informed consent, a tox screen can be run with your regular blood work without you knowing,....your doctor just checks a box on the lab prescription.
The only exemption that comes to mind is if you have been prescribed medical marijuana by a licensed healthcare prescriber and has been obtained at an authorized dispensary. This would probably fall under the same umbrella as finding opioid residuals in your sample, but having a legal prescription for them.

 

[deleted678432]

Maybe I’m biased cause I live in Colorado, but I feel like the desire to smoke weed dies off when you graduate college. I’d just feel weird smoking knowing that I have to see 25 patients the next day. Maybe that’s just me though.