Cannabis and interviews

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Edx102$ said:
because its still federally schedule 1 and med schools need to be federally compliant in all senses for many reasons. Just because they test for it doesnt mean using responsibly, at any stage or status in life, is wrong.
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But then there will be "Sanctuary Schools" that will turn a blind eye on weed... 😀
 
Hey hope I'm not too late on this one. I've actually thought about this quite a bit. I live in a state where the opioid epidemic has had a massive impact, especially in more rural areas where jobs in the energy sector vanished over night as the price of both natural gas and oil fell. One of my observations after having had conversations with individuals who have battled opioid addiction is that medical marijuana does appear to be helpful in some cases (based on a very small sample size n<5). The pattern I've seen is these individuals usually begin treatment using methadone (ranging from 3-12 months) before then acquiring a medical marijuana license and transitioning to using marijuana in place of opioids. All individuals I've talked to have successfully avoided relapsing so far and have been able to lead more productive lives, holding down jobs and even reconciling with family member who are willing to accept their lifestyle. If I were asked about my views on legalization of marijuana for medical use would it be appropriate to bring something like this up?

Edit: Just to clarify, I personally do not believe recreational is something that should be considered, but at the end of the day that is just my opinion.
 
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FunkyFrog994 said:
Hey hope I'm not too late on this one. I've actually thought about this quite a bit. I live in a state where the opioid epidemic has had a massive impact, especially in more rural areas where jobs in the energy sector vanished over night as the price of both natural gas and oil fell. One of my observations after having had conversations with individuals who have battled opioid addiction is that medical marijuana does appear to be helpful in some cases (based on a very small sample size n<5). The pattern I've seen is these individuals usually begin treatment using methadone (ranging from 3-12 months) before then acquiring a medical marijuana license and transitioning to using marijuana in place of opioids. All individuals I've talked to have successfully avoided relapsing so far and have been able to lead more productive lives, holding down jobs and even reconciling with family member who are willing to accept their lifestyle. If I were asked about my views on legalization of marijuana for medical use would it be appropriate to bring something like this up?

Edit: Just to clarify, I personally do not believe recreational is something that should be considered, but at the end of the day that is just my opinion.
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I think that's a super interesting perspective. I think that if they do ask about it, that would be a really unique position to take. I don't know how likely this is to come up in the first place as so many states are legalizing (or have already legalized) pot.
 
Are people really asking this on interviews these days?

While I don't really disagree with legalization on a personal level (mostly due to my views on personal liberty), I would have very little tolerance for some premed telling me about how marijuana isn't harmful. I've treated far too many young people who have come to my hospital psychotic for the first time after smoking a bunch of marijuana. I've also encountered a ton of people with bipolar disorder who I will never be able to get well until they give up the medical marijuana card that some quack gave them for "anxiety." Then again I don't expect premeds to have this perspective, which is why I think it's kind of a dumb question to ask.
 
Sterling_Archer said:
I know some hospitals do it because their insurance would be more expensive. Is your arguement against thc that's it's bad because it's on standard drug tests? If alcohol was just invented it would probably be illegal too
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I’m too lazy to look it up but I think there’s some decent evidence that it has permanent deleterious effects on memory. Not sure I’d want a pediatric neurosurgeon smoking recreationally. I don’t think I’d want to see one that drank a lot either.

But I also realize that it might be clouded by my personal views on non-medical, recreational use of marijuana. I’m just not big on using mind-altering substances for fun.
 
A-Fib said:
I was with some people in the same room and they smoked. I didn't smoke. I was just there but there was so much smoke that I guess, not willingly..." lolz. Contact-high 🙂
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Bull. There's no such thing.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Snopes seems to disagree with you. FACT CHECK: Is It Possible to Get High From Secondhand Marijuana Smoke? Unless you are talking about something else.
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It is extremely rarely. According to the article. "It is possible at least under certain extremely unventilated and confined conditions."

When I think of second hand high I think of it in a normal situation such as sitting next to someone at the bus stop or someone smoking next to you at a restaurant. I'm thinking of places that are ventilated and have a continuous flow of air.

The article (what I've read of it) explains that people who get second hand high are usually those who are in locked cars or who use a hot box. At that point you're gonna get high because the only air you're breathing in is the weed air. When I think of second hand high I think of it being unintentional (or at least slightly) on the part of the second person.

I get that second hand smoke is exposure to smoke from cigarettes and stuff that you didn't smoke, but can we really call it second hand high if you willing locked yourself in an unventilated room knowing that you're going to be breathing in all the the weed fumes. You may not be the one contributing the weed but you're knowingly locking yourself in a room with the air knowing you're going to be exposed.
 
Ms Procrastinator said:
It is extremely rarely. According to the article. "It is possible at least under certain extremely unventilated and confined conditions."

When I think of second hand high I think of it in a normal situation such as sitting next to someone at the bus stop or someone smoking next to you at a restaurant. I'm thinking of places that are ventilated and have a continuous flow of air.

The article (what I've read of it) explains that people who get second hand high are usually those who are in locked cars or who use a hot box. At that point you're gonna get high because the only air you're breathing in is the weed air. When I think of second hand high I think of it being unintentional (or at least slightly) on the part of the second person.

I get that second hand smoke is exposure to smoke from cigarettes and stuff that you didn't smoke, but can we really call it second hand high if you willing locked yourself in an unventilated room knowing that you're going to be breathing in all the the weed fumes. You may not be the one contributing the weed but you're knowingly locking yourself in a room with the air knowing you're going to be exposed.
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If you're in a smaller concert venue with 50+ people smoking weed, it's essentially a hot box. You willingly went to the concert, but you may not have wanted to get high.

But yes, I agree with you that just sitting next to someone smoking in a normally ventilated room is unlikely to get you a contact high.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
If you're in a smaller concert venue with 50+ people smoking weed, it's essentially a hot box. You willingly went to the concert, but you may not have wanted to get high.

But yes, I agree with you that just sitting next to someone smoking in a normally ventilated room is unlikely to get you a contact high.
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All I got from this is "you're partially right" :laugh: 😛. I'll admit that I was wrong about some stuff though
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Well yeah. You’re right. But I think you narrowed the situations down a little too much is all.
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Yeah, my dad smoked weed all my life. At one point I had to do a drug test for something and kinda freaked out :laugh: I knew it wasn't possible but I was like "ahhh! I've been exposed to this **** forever". I kinda joke to myself that he's been smoking that junk for so long that part of my DNA is probably made up of weed.
 
Waaay down the rabbit hole but, if asked at an interview, I'd say legalize because 1. even though people don't like it for themselves, why should they be able to dictate your behavior? 2. there is no evidence that use of marijuana itself is likely to make you a danger to anyone else. You should be able to do anything that doesn't harm anyone else or deny them their rights.

Now, for the philosophy major out there, gimme a hand. I say you should be able to smoke weed because it doesn't hurt anyone -> I agree that smoking is harmful to your own health -> I also believe it is not the government's job to keep you from hurting yourself (if you are sane and knowingly hurt yourself via smoking, alcohol, etc) -> if you are allowed to hurt yourself, I think suicide should be legal -> Issue is you can argue suicide has a huge detrimental effect (hurting?) other people around you, but you're not denying them any rights. Where do you go from there?
 
FunkyFrog994 said:
Hey hope I'm not too late on this one. I've actually thought about this quite a bit. I live in a state where the opioid epidemic has had a massive impact, especially in more rural areas where jobs in the energy sector vanished over night as the price of both natural gas and oil fell. One of my observations after having had conversations with individuals who have battled opioid addiction is that medical marijuana does appear to be helpful in some cases (based on a very small sample size n<5). The pattern I've seen is these individuals usually begin treatment using methadone (ranging from 3-12 months) before then acquiring a medical marijuana license and transitioning to using marijuana in place of opioids. All individuals I've talked to have successfully avoided relapsing so far and have been able to lead more productive lives, holding down jobs and even reconciling with family member who are willing to accept their lifestyle. If I were asked about my views on legalization of marijuana for medical use would it be appropriate to bring something like this up?

Edit: Just to clarify, I personally do not believe recreational is something that should be considered, but at the end of the day that is just my opinion.
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FWIW....
Your N=5 is coming to poor conclusion. In fact studies show the high THC levels in marijuana today are increasingly leading to opioid use. MAT (medically assisted treatment) using the likes of Suboxone is conclusively proven to be effective.

Additional fact, at high THC levels common today, it has been studied and shown to be additive and psychotropic. 1/6 of today’s M users are becoming addicted. Historic THC levels (ie: 20+ years ago) were commonly 85%-90% lower THC and were thought to not be additive.
 
sloop said:
Are people really asking this on interviews these days?

While I don't really disagree with legalization on a personal level (mostly due to my views on personal liberty), I would have very little tolerance for some premed telling me about how marijuana isn't harmful. I've treated far too many young people who have come to my hospital psychotic for the first time after smoking a bunch of marijuana. I've also encountered a ton of people with bipolar disorder who I will never be able to get well until they give up the medical marijuana card that some quack gave them for "anxiety." Then again I don't expect premeds to have this perspective, which is why I think it's kind of a dumb question to ask.
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I tend to have a similarly liberal view of individual rights.
However, legalization (including medical marijuana) is about normalization, and big money. If people were to research the true social and financial-social costs of all the harm legalization is causing, they likely would not prioritize the individual’s right to choose. Anyone interested can research the various rising issues seen in Colorado.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
:
:
But I also realize that it might be clouded by my personal views on non-medical, recreational use of marijuana. I’m just not big on using mind-altering substances for fun.
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Do you realize that medical marijuana use is a farce? The doctor doesn’t prescribe a dosage or frequency that can be measured and monitored for adherence and compliance? It like an Internist saying to go home and eat some mold for an infection, rather than prescribing dose, frequency, and qty for a specific medicine.
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
Just a friendly tip, if you are going to cite something to argue a point then use primary sources. No one cares what the opinions are of a bunch of columnists. The CDC's comment isn't saying what you are thinking it's saying.
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Exactly, what the cdc said is exactly opposites of the false conclusions mentioned in the columns.
This was the most importantly piece of info:
The CDC now states that THC might have no bearing on pain management.
 
My initial statement is more about proposing a potential use for medical marijuana. I by no means have done a sufficient amount of research on the topic to be considered an expert, however I am aware that there are both pros and cons when dealing with medical marijuana as there is with many drugs available on the market today. This is information I obtained by simply talking to a small group of individuals in my community. I understand opioids play a major role in pain management, however it is also apparent that there is an ongoing epidemic that has claimed the lives of many, particularly those in rural communities. I believe It’s important to listen to the patient’s perspective and those i spoke with felt strongly that marijuana had played a major role in helping them turn their lives around. That’s what led me to think maybe It would be interesting to examine the impact medical marijuana can have when treating those struggling to break free of opioid addiction. I by no means am endorsing medical marijuana as a magic bullet for treating opioid addiction, but something that may have potential. We still have a lot of research to do when it comes to the long term effects of marijuana use and how it will ultimately effect our communities. Please feel free to educate me/ provide relevant research articles as I’d love to learn more and plan to do so on my own as well.
 
proudofmykids said:
FWIW....
Your N=5 is coming to poor conclusion. In fact studies show the high THC levels in marijuana today are increasingly leading to opioid use. MAT (medically assisted treatment) using the likes of Suboxone is conclusively proven to be effective.

Additional fact, at high THC levels common today, it has been studied and shown to be additive and psychotropic. 1/6 of today’s M users are becoming addicted. Historic THC levels (ie: 20+ years ago) were commonly 85%-90% lower THC and were thought to not be additive.
Click to expand...

Out of curioustiy if suboxone is conclusively proven to be effective why are we still dealing with the epidemic?
 
FunkyFrog994 said:
My initial statement is more about proposing a potential use for medical marijuana. I by no means have done a sufficient amount of research on the topic to be considered an expert, however I am aware that there are both pros and cons when dealing with medical marijuana as there is with many drugs available on the market today. This is information I obtained by simply talking to a small group of individuals in my community. I understand opioids play a major role in pain management, however it is also apparent that there is an ongoing epidemic that has claimed the lives of many, particularly those in rural communities. I believe It’s important to listen to the patient’s perspective and those i spoke with felt strongly that marijuana had played a major role in helping them turn their lives around. That’s what led me to think maybe It would be interesting to examine the impact medical marijuana can have when treating those struggling to break free of opioid addiction. I by no means am endorsing medical marijuana as a magic bullet for treating opioid addiction, but something that may have potential. We still have a lot of research to do when it comes to the long term effects of marijuana use and how it will ultimately effect our communities. Please feel free to educate me/ provide relevant research articles as I’d love to learn more and plan to do so on my own as well.
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As mentioned, if you use critical thinking, and always insist on double blind studies as citations of evidence, you can learn a lot and decipher real science from quackery. AFAIK, if at all, there are actually extremely rare studies that have shown marijuana is an effective treatment for a non-terminal medical conditions. This statement is wrt marijuana with THC and not just CBD oils of which I am less familiar.

You can use google to search for information, but again, the lobby is so strong, you’ll have to soft through a lot to find real studies. As far as social ramifications, use Colorado in your search as it seems to have the most data.

Factoid: it has been said that there are more MJ dispensaries in Colorado than Starbucks and McDonalds combined.
 
FunkyFrog994 said:
Out of curioustiy if suboxone is conclusively proven to be effective why are we still dealing with the epidemic?
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This is like asking why people are still dying of infections if antibiotics are effective or why some people are still depressed on antidepressants.

Something can be effective and still not be expected to entirely solve the thing it is effective against.
 
I’ve posted this on SDN before, but:

1) I was asked about my thoughts on the legalization of marijuana during a medical school interview (this was back when only Colorado had legalized MJ, if I remember correctly). My interviewer and I debated. I was later accepted. No big deal. I don’t think he was looking for any specific answer as much as a though process. This was at a school in the NE, for what it’s worth.

2) I went to medical school on the West coast and they viewed MJ and drug testing as more of an intelligence test than anything else. You got 2 months advance warning and if you failed, you either had questionable self control or were just dumb. Regardless of this, I once saw a resident at my hospital (inappropriately) accused of being impaired at work. He was taken off service and immediately drug tested. He passed, but if he happened to be a recreational user that could have seriously compromised his career. Just food for thought.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
I’m too lazy to look it up but I think there’s some decent evidence that it has permanent deleterious effects on memory. Not sure I’d want a pediatric neurosurgeon smoking recreationally. I don’t think I’d want to see one that drank a lot either.

But I also realize that it might be clouded by my personal views on non-medical, recreational use of marijuana. I’m just not big on using mind-altering substances for fun.
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sorry im late to reply, but if you do find that article/articles youre thinking of please pm me them. Curious on the data since anything ive read was either inconclusive or "statistically significant" (which can be such a BS estimator of conclusivity) but with incredibly weak power behind the stats.
 
I think it’s important to add that Marijuana is not meant to be a magical cure all for cancer. How badly do I wish it could, but cancer is not that simple.
What’s really going on is seeing how we can use Marijuana as complementary medicine, rather than a cure. It’s benefits are used in conjunction with other therapies such as chemo and radiation. Along with battling the demoralizing effects such as nausea, no sleep, lack of appetite, etc. It’s a way of stacking the deck. British researchers have found that marijuana can help even where morphine is powerless. Sometimes morphine and other opioid drugs don’t block the pain signals that an injured nerve sends. Today, the development of pain medication based on cannabinoids is underway. Source - Can Marijuana Help with my Chronic Pain? - Ecigclopedia
I think those just goes to show how beneficial Marijuana can be to the medical industry, but also how much research is needed to understand complicated diseases such as cancer. Hopefully with more legalization it can lead to more research.
 
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Edx102$ said:
sorry im late to reply, but if you do find that article/articles youre thinking of please pm me them. Curious on the data since anything ive read was either inconclusive or "statistically significant" (which can be such a BS estimator of conclusivity) but with incredibly weak power behind the stats.
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For every such study like this, there will be another that says the exact opposite. Or one will say most users experience permanent cognitive deficits and another study will say, no, only those who smoked in their adolescence / 'x' age experience permanent deficits. Peruse ncbi or plos to see inconsistencies.
 
Be advised that putting your personal opinion into specific matters may make or break your interview. It all depends on the overall school that you're applying to (as you mentioned yourself). Just be mindful of that, and make whatever decision you see fit. Good luck.
 
In some cases, marijuana does help, and there is plenty of evidence for this. Its medicinal properties are simply unique. As a result, marijuana products are 100% natural and have significantly fewer side effects than conventional medications. My doctor advised me to use CBD, a cannabis-based drug, to fight insomnia and depression. Indeed, CBD improved my sleep and I was able to cope with depression. I admit, sometimes I also enjoy smoking marijuana through my glass oil rig, but that doesn't happen often and I use the smallest dose.
 
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