Wanna Fly High? Fuggetaboutit!

[Floatsflyer]

Marijuana will be legal in Canada beginning in July, 2018. Despite that, Transport Canada medical authorities and regulators say it will still be illegal to fly with ANY level of THC in the blood. So zero tolerance will be the norm.

If a pilot is randomly tested and THC is found, his license could be revoked for as long as it takes for all traces to be out of his system.

So the memo to all Canadian pilots reads as follows: "If you want to keep your wings, best rely on your engine power to get high."

[robert l]

I've worked construction for over 40 years and we started having drug test in the '80's. The past 13 years it's been mostly Nuclear plants. Always a drug test on hire in and I have been random tested 4 times in a 3 month period. Guess I look the part. LOL. No matter if it's legal in your state there will always be businesses that won't accept it. So for me, it was, get high, or work and support your family. A no brainer !
Bob

[Frank Giger]

They don't call it dope because it makes one smart.

[CDS]

I've worked construction for over 40 years and we started having drug test in the '80's. The past 13 years it's been mostly Nuclear plants. Always a drug test on hire in and I have been random tested 4 times in a 3 month period. Guess I look the part. LOL. No matter if it's legal in your state there will always be businesses that won't accept it. So for me, it was, get high, or work and support your family. A no brainer !
Bob

I've heard that some good jobs - one with starting pay of $17.98/hour - have gone unfilled in Colorado because too many people fail the drug screen test. But I have to wonder, then where are those people getting the money to buy the weed in the first place? And where are they working now? Because I'd rather not do business with them.

[Bill Greenwood]

Your info probably came from someone who is not in Colorado, perhaps a dea guy who's a sore loser. Most jobs dont have a drug screen to do them. Our largest employer in town only does a check if there was a problem. The economy is good in this state ,legal pot has raised a lot of tax revenue, but otherwise it makes almost no difference for the average person.
It has long been used by many of the most educated and creative people. 60% say they have tried it once. Im pretty sure that somewhere like Silicon Valley has a lot of users and they aren't "dopes" . Propaganda from the anti side held sway for decades, but when a state legalizes it, people find the boggy man is only in Jeff Sessions head.
The idea of flying after using is a whole nother matter, you may need all your best facilties to deal with an emergency. No one really knows what effects and limits of pot are, and the big reason is that the Fed go prohibited research for all these years, they made the ludicrous claim that it was a class I narcotic and therefore bad, and so would only allow a study if it was designed to be negative, nothing independent or factual. Result we just dont know, is 8 hours toke to takeoff safe like liquor? I asked some friends and they dont have a problem driving with light use, much like one beer for lunch. And lots of athletes use even flying down a mountain at 80mph. Its not black and white.

[L16 Pilot]

Well Bill, to follow up on a previous thread: I went back and looked at the Basic Med form and under part "N" here's what I was referring to (direct quote) "Substance dependency, failed a drug test ever or substance abuse or use of illegal substance in the past two years". The last part seems pretty definitive to me so I don't know where your FAA guy is coming from as MJ is still listed as a class one on the federal level and we fly under federal regulations not Colorado.

[Bill Greenwood]

The medical advisory person read me the form for 3rd class medical over the phone, perhaps your form is different. I dont use it nor do I have "substance dependency" so I havent worried about that clause.

[Floatsflyer]

I went back and looked at the Basic Med form and under part "N" here's what I was referring to (direct quote) "Substance dependency, failed a drug test ever or substance abuse or use of illegal substance in the past two years".

Despite the wording on this Med form, who would ever actually voluntarily admit to these onerous questions when your objective is to renew your medical?

[Marc Zeitlin]

Marijuana will be legal in Canada beginning in July, 2018. Despite that, Transport Canada medical authorities and regulators say it will still be illegal to fly with ANY level of THC in the blood. So zero tolerance will be the norm.

To get back to the original post, this brings up an interesting question of interpretation. What is the meaning of "ANY"? What type of test will be performed to determine the level of THC (or THC metabolites)?

If a pilot is randomly tested and THC is found, his license could be revoked for as long as it takes for all traces to be out of his system.

Depending upon the type of test used - urine, blood, saliva, hair - "detectable" amounts of THC can be found over varying time periods, and mean different things. Recent usage, or historical usage. These pages:

http://calculator.marijuanacentral.c...annabis-usage/
http://www.canorml.org/healthfacts/d...detection.html

Have well researched information on how long marijuana use is detectable. And it matters whether they're looking for THC (which is the psychoactive part) or THC-COOH (which is NOT psychoactive, but is just a metabolite that sticks around for a while).

I certainly applaud Canada for taking a step in the right direction - it would be good to have some clarity on how they intend to enforce the "zero tolerance" policy, based on the above.

Interestingly, similar questions about alcohol usage and detection bring up very similar issues - how is the testing done and what are they looking for? The "8 hour bottle to throttle" rule is almost meaningless in the context of determining impairment due to alcohol usage, yet alcohol usage can be detected in hair follicle tests up to 3 month after usage. Obviously, there's no impairment after 24 - 48 hours from usage, but the same rule about alcohol (zero tolerance) COULD have ramifications if hair follicle tests were what was used. These pages:

https://newlifehouse.com/how-long-do...n-your-system/
https://americanaddictioncenters.org...ong-in-system/

discuss alcohol detection.

[Floatsflyer]

To get back to the original post, this brings up an interesting question of interpretation. What is the meaning of "ANY"? What type of test will be performed to determine the level of THC (or THC metabolites)?

Depending upon the type of test used - urine, blood, saliva, hair - "detectable" amounts of THC can be found over varying time periods, and mean different things. Recent usage, or historical usage.

I certainly applaud Canada for taking a step in the right direction - it would be good to have some clarity on how they intend to enforce the "zero tolerance" policy, based on the above.

Marc, these basic policy guidelines were just made public in the past week. It's a work in progress with more developing details to follow over the next 7 months. Stay tuned.