Sessions and the current admin. vs the killer weed, M'ingAGA.

The BBQ Pit
1

Here is the latest in the battle between medical cannabis (same in rec. use states) and “modern” medicine the fed way.

Are you traking opioids (like Vicodin) for pain management? Pay attention.

You’re probably are not going to trigger the new drug testing requirements, UNLESS it’s ongoing therapy, then you likely will. Yes drug testing. You will required to pee in a cup. Your MD will tell you that you need to submit a pee sample to the lab, at your expense, and prove that you have opioids in your system. Okay, I can understand that they want to weed out people who get it only to sell it, and of course, they are too stupid to take a Vicodin the night before the test to get it in their system. But whatever. You get to drug test.

Then they sort of slip in this little gem. “By the way, we’re testing you for the following substances too. A, B, C, Meth, PCP, D, E, Opiods, F, THC”… THC? Yes, because the feds believe THC and heroin are brothers. Because, well, you need to prove you’re not addicted to a benign drugs, like THC, to get drugs like opioids. And, their next leap in logic states that THC in your system is illegal so you must be addicted. Guilty until proven innocent. But, you say, it’s medical with a prescription and used under the supervision of a physician. Poop they say.

Now, assume you turned in a dirty for THC test. You get a call from the MD telling you that you tested dirty and you will have to retest in 2 weeks to keep your pain management therapy. So, one “dirty” THC test triggers a second THC test 2 weeks later. Again at your expense. Wait, this shit last up to (the record I’ve found while researching this) 77 fucking days. 11 weeks, and they want a retest in 2.

This just happened to my family. Posoitive THC from 100% second hand vapors. The person has never used. So test 2 was triggered. Here’s what they say happens if test 2 is failed. No more pain management therapy. None, zip. But, they will recommend rehab, and if you graduate (or whatever) from rehab, and test clean, you can have opiods again.

For my family, it’s not a problem. I won’t go into it but there is a 100% effective way to give a clean test, every time, even if you smoke on your way (walking) to the lab. 75 bucks a shot though.

While researching what is happening here, (and there isn’t a lot on it out there, I guess it’s sort of new) I also found out that the feds are considering testing for section 8 housing. (a fed program) Sessions is going to save us, no doubt about it.
If you med cannabis in section 8 housing, apparently you’re evicted if they find out now.

I haven’t found the source of this test requirement, and would really appreciate anyone who knows about it to let me know. There’s just bits and pieces appearing on the net now. Thx for any help understanding this.

Making America Great Again.

2

This is right up the ACLU’s alley, will you do me a favor and notify them? For my part, I’ll write them another check.

3

Sounds like it’s time to invest in drug testing companies.

4

I’m a little bit confused as to what these test requirements apply to? My doctors have never asked me to take an illicit drug screen.

In any case, it’s fuckin’ bullshit. Marijuana’s very overrated as a pain med but it works wonders with other symptoms, esp. nausea, which are often co-morbid with pain. And it mixes pretty well with opioid meds, at least in my case. YMMV of course.

5

I’d love to discuss this but I’m a little confused as to what is being discussed. Did JBo trying to promote or pass a law or regulation requiring people taking opioids for chronic pain to be screened for marijuana?

I tried googling for it but I couldn’t find anything. Anyway, I thought the purpose of drug-testing pain med patients was to make sure they’re actually taking the meds, instead of diverting them.

6

Years too late on that one. This article talks about the ties between drug-testing companies and the Republican party. Basically, drug testing companies began donating to conservative politicians back in the eighties and those politicians enacted laws which created a demand for drug-testing products.

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This is another BIG reason why the Democrats NEED to win 2020. Sessions is a parasite that is going to continue to inflict terrible damage on this country and undo years of progress…the only way of getting rid of him is getting rid of Trump, and the only way to do that is to WIN the next election. No magical Russian connection or criminal indictment that they’ve been fruitlessly praying for is going to be his undoing. He has spent a lifetime evading consequences and he is fucking better at that game than the people on the other side, full stop.

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QFT. Sessions is the worst one in the bunch. While everyone else is starting dumpster fires and tripping over their own dicks and pointing at each other, that evil little fucker is getting things done. He’s methodically and efficiently dismantling everything that’s good and decent about our justice system. He’s the most dangerous man in America.

I wish the mainstream media would start doing pieces on how he’s the latest power behind the throne, calling him President Sessions. Featuring doctored photos of him in presidential places doing presidential things (because Trump would never read an article).

That’s usually a death sentence in Trumpville (although Kelly got a reprieve). Remember when Trump was talking about firing Sessions for refusing to help him obstruct justice? I was really praying he’d do it. I still am.

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I hope they swing a few more seats to win big this year, and forcing a tactical showdown on marijuana laws could be a way to do that.

This is not a legal issue, in that the law is clear: Legality at the state level cannot immunize from Federal prosecution. If the Feds want to make marijuana illegal, and the DEA arrests you on a marijuana charge, state legality in the state you consumed that marijuana does not matter one whit. If you want to make a case out of the DEA picking and choosing its cases, you lose, because the DEA is allowed to do that as long as the law isn’t discriminatory “as applied”, which, yes, is a term of art.

This is, however, one Hell of a political issue. If there’s one specific flashpoint case, a case which really makes the news, the Feds will lose in the court of public opinion, and the bigger they win in the courtroom, the bigger they lose at the ballot box.

And if the Democrats play this right, we’ll be able to spin some choice Republican whining about how mean it is to politicize marijuana laws into some great soundbites.

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Let’s say the libertarian wing of the pubs and the dems manage to revoke the federal ban on marijuana and leave it up to the states. What happens at customs in states that still make it illegal? Does customs enforce state laws?

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Here’s what I understand. If you have ongoing opioids for pain management, you well test. Apparently, it was one of those things that was ignored before JBS decided to unignore it.

Found something though,
Clinicians should “consider urine drug testing at least annually to assess for prescribed medications as well as other controlled prescription drugs and illicit drugs,” CDC’s guidance advised

If a doctor suspects a patient is selling or sharing these drugs in lieu of taking them, it’s advised that they do a urine test to see if the medication can be safely discontinued. “A negative drug test for prescribed opioids might indicate the patient is not taking prescribed opioids, although clinicians should consider other possible reasons for this test result,” according to the guidance.

And this.

CDC also cautioned against urine testing for tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. “Clinicians should not test for substances for which results would not affect patient management or for which implications for patient management are unclear. For example, experts noted that there might be uncertainty about the clinical implications of a positive urine drug test for [THC]."

It’s not new apparently, just now being enforced. Or there may even be something newer than this that I’ve quoted. Or the MD has no clue.

Anyway, the MD has cut her entirely off her pain management as of late today.
He’s also pissed because she didn’t come in for him to tell her, but she just replayed the message from the nurse and it tells her to make a “telephone appointment to discuss something with her MD.” It also says he needs to discuss “withdrawal” from the opioids with her. Which, he didn’t do.

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Er… this gives me the impression you have never been to the US. There are no “customs” at state borders. State borders exist, of course, on maps, but at street level it’s a sign next to the road saying “Welcome to [state]” and that’s it.

This is one thing that annoys states that still ban pot that are next to states that have recreational or medical pot - there’s nothing to stop it crossing over the state line.

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This is not a new thing. All reputable pain management physicians test their patients.

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No I think **Batano **is asking what happens when one enters the United States via a state where pot is legal. For example, someone enters the US at the border with Mexico into California with pot in their possesion (or flies into Denver from another country and goes through customs at the airport). The answer of course, is that Federal laws banning the import of controlled substances would still be enforced, even if a change was made to defer to state laws for simple possession.

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But both parts of what you quoted say the opposite, don’t they? They say that you only test to see if the person is sharing their drugs–i.e., they don’t have enough of the prescribed medicine in their system. And it cautions specifically against testing for THC, because it’s not even entirely clear what a positive THC result would mean.

It sounds more like reinterpreting rules to say what they specifically say not to do.

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You must be careful though if you are from a legal state. My brother was pulled over in Indiana (he lives in Colorado, so has Colorado license plates). He has never smoked (he’s a professional truck driver and would lose his job). Still the cop insisted he smelled MJ. Got a drug dog and searched his car. Found nothing. Nice little 2 hour delay.

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I pretty much see it that way too. I’m hoping it’s just an overzealous MD, but it doesn’t look that way.

I don’t really have a problem with proving there is opioids in your system, however, it’s really a stupid thing to do. Anyone knowing that would simply take a couple of Vicodin the day before the test and sell the rest. This won’t stop someone selling it.

It’s the mandatory testing for 10 drugs that seem like guilty until proven innocent.

What’s really ironic is headlines like this…
Legal weed: An accidental solution to the opioid crisis?
Legal weed: An accidental solution to the opioid crisis?

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Once again, it’s all about the money.

Early on, it was just about suppressing cannabis so the tobacco, alcohol and petro-chemical industries could progress with market advantage. Now that it’s here, we simply cash in on the fact that lots of people are doing it.

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Of course. But none legitimately use cannabis as a criteria for anything, while fewer and fewer are testing for THC at all.

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This has been going on for a long time at my wife’s pain clinic. every three months pee into a cup and fork over another $280 (after insurance, several thousand dollars before insurance, including $15 for the cup itself). She has been doing this for 12 years and has never once had a bad test, but just in case she suddenly decided at age 46 that now was the time to experiment with cocaine or any of 40 other ilicit drugs they test for. This is actually a discount, it used to be $400 until we realized that we didn’t have to use the laboratory recommended (and owned) by the pain management clinic. I’m pretty sure they make the majority of their money testing their patients.