What Happens if I Relapse While Under Probation for Substance Abuse?

If you're a nurse who has been placed on probation by your Board of Nursing (or equivalent regulatory agency) because of substance abuse issues, you know how important it is that you meet all of the conditions that your BON has imposed on you. Typically, nurses who are on probation for substance abuse must be tested for drugs or alcohol regularly, often at random times. When a nurse fails a drug or alcohol test, the consequences for their license and their livelihood can be severe.

As a nurse who is on probation for substance abuse, if you learn that you failed one of your mandatory drug or alcohol tests, you need to take it very seriously and have someone on your side who can work to convince your BON not to suspend or revoke your license. The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can help. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or fill out our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your case and learn what one of our experienced attorneys can do to help you.

What Are My Obligations if I'm Under Probation Because of Substance Abuse?

If you're under probation because you were reported to your state Board of Nursing for suspected substance abuse, that means you have already been investigated by the BON and some determination was made that you had a substance abuse issue that could affect the quality of care you provide to patients. You either agreed to be placed on probation or were ordered to do so after a hearing.

One of the usual conditions of probation because of a substance abuse issue is that the nurse agrees to be tested for drugs or alcohol, typically at random. If you fail a drug or alcohol test, it's considered a breach of one of the terms of your probation, and your BON can then decide to change the sanctions that it is imposing on you.

In most cases, you will be notified by your BON if you fail a drug or alcohol test, and will have an opportunity to address the situation before the BON takes any action against you. The time you have to do this may be very short – the BON's main concern is with the welfare of the public, not your continued employment as a nurse. So, the BON may move very quickly to restrict you from working as a nurse if you've failed a drug or alcohol test.

This is where it's vital to have an experienced professional license defense attorney on your side, one who has been through this situation before and has helped other nurses address drug and alcohol testing failures. In many cases, for example, there is an explanation for why the nurse failed the test – an explanation that has nothing to do with the nurse relapsing. In some cases, for example, medications prescribed by the nurse's physician can trigger a positive drug test result, even though the nurse did not consume prohibited substances. In other cases, the nurse may have accidentally consumed something that did include a prohibited substance.

Having someone on your side who can review the facts of your particular situation and make strong arguments to your BON against terminating your probation and suspending you (or revoking your license entirely) is vital at this stage. It may be your best and only chance to convince your BON to allow you to continue to practice under probation.

What Other Conditions Can I Be Expected to Have to Meet if I'm Under Probation for Substance Abuse?

It's not uncommon for nurses who are under probation because of substance abuse misconduct to be required to attend therapy sessions with a licensed therapist, as well as to attend group sessions such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. Typically, the nurse will need to provide proof that they have met whatever meeting schedule is required by the terms of their probation. If you're a nurse who is required to attend therapy or group sessions as a condition of your probation and you miss a session without advance notice or without an excuse, your probation could be ended and you could be suspended or your license revoked instead.

That's why it's so important to understand each and every one of the conditions of your probation, and to take them seriously and make sure you follow them exactly. If there is a reason why you missed a therapy session or an AA or NA meeting, you need to know how to communicate that to your BON so that you don't have to fight against the BON ending your probation. If you are planning to be away for a vacation or for any other reason and will miss a session, you need to know whether you have to clear that in advance with your BON and how to do so. If you are changing an in-person therapy session to a virtual one, you need to know whether you have to clear that with your BON before the session happens.

The point is that failing to meet any condition of your probation – not only the drug or alcohol testing conditions – can lead to your probation being terminated.

When you are working with one of the experienced attorneys from the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team, you'll have someone by your side who can help you make sure you don't accidentally violate any of the terms of your probation. Your attorney can contact your BON on your behalf to pre-clear any changes in your therapy schedule, report an illness that may prevent you from attending a group meeting, and answer any questions the BON may have about your compliance with the conditions of your probation.

Is Any of This Different if I've Agreed to an Alternative to Discipline Program?

Not every nurse who faces misconduct charges relating to substance abuse is placed on probation. In some cases, the nurse agrees to enter what states typically call an “alternative to discipline” program. These programs are designed to help nurses who have admitted to having substance abuse issues to get treatment for those issues and, if they successfully complete the treatment, to have their disciplinary record cleared of any mention that they faced misconduct for substance abuse.

These are different from cases where the nurse is placed on probation because when a nurse is placed on probation, that is usually made part of the nurse's publicly available record.

Alternative to discipline programs are not for every nurse in every case. For one, they typically require the nurse to stop practicing for a period of time while they begin therapy, and it can be months or even years before the nurse is cleared to begin working again. They also have random drug and alcohol testing requirements as well as therapy and group meeting requirements. Making the decision to enter an alternative to discipline program is an important one, and if you're working with an experienced professional license defense attorney your lawyer can help you decide whether it makes sense in your case.

When a nurse who is enrolled in an alternative to discipline program fails a drug or alcohol test, there are a number of things that might happen. The nurse may be required to submit to even more intensive random testing; the amount of time they are enrolled in the alternative to discipline program may be extended; or they may be terminated from the alternative to discipline program.

If their program is extended, it can also extend the time where the nurse is not allowed to work as a nurse while participating in the program. And if the nurse is terminated from the program, their disciplinary case will be reopened and they will be back before their BON facing the discipline that they had hoped to avoid by enrolling in the alternative to discipline program in the first place.

This is why it's important if you are in an alternative to discipline program and fail a drug or alcohol test, that you have an experienced attorney who can help you discuss the situation with your BON. It's essentially the same situation as if you're on probation and fail a drug or alcohol test. You need someone on your side who can review the facts and argue on your behalf to your BON to help keep you in the alternative to discipline program with the least amount of impact on the duration or terms of your enrollment.

I Didn't Take Any Drugs But Failed My Drug Test. What Happened?

There are a number of substances that aren't “drugs” in the sense of illegal drugs or prescription drugs that can trigger a positive result on a drug test. While BONs will often warn nurses to avoid these kinds of substances, it can be easy to forget – or sometimes the nurse is unknowingly exposed to them.

Here are some of those substances:

  • Poppy Seeds – a fairly well-known effect of consuming poppy seeds is a positive test for morphine or codeine.
  • Secondhand Marijuana Smoke – Cannabis is legal in many states, and even where it's not, it is not unusual to be exposed to secondhand smoke that could result in a positive test for THC.
  • ADHD Medication, Antidepressants, Beta Blockers – these can cause a false positive test for amphetamines.
  • Ibuprofen – The active ingredient in brands like Advil and Motrin can trigger a false positive for barbiturates or benzodiazepine.
  • CBD Products – While CBD (Cannabidiol) itself does not contain THC, many places that sell CBD products also sell other products that are hemp-based and that do contain small amounts (less than 0.3%) of THC. Use or consumption of these products, or CBD that is contaminated with small amounts of THC, can result in a positive test for cannabis.

When you work with an experienced professional license defense attorney from the Lento Law Firm, we will help you determine what may have caused you to fail your drug test. We can advocate on your behalf with your BON against you being penalized for a failed drug test that happened because you accidentally consumed something that caused a false-positive test result.

I Did Relapse, and My Test Results Were Probably Accurate. What Can I Do to Protect My Future?

Relapses are not unusual when a nurse is fighting a substance abuse problem. Nursing boards realize this, and while they are not going to allow a nurse who has relapsed to practice medicine until there are some assurances that the nurse is not likely to relapse again, they won't necessarily revoke the nurse's license because of a relapse.

The steps that a nursing board will take when a nurse admits to a relapse will often depend on whether it has happened before and whether the nurse is up-front about their failure to follow the requirements of their probation or alternative to discipline program. In almost every case, the best way to handle the situation is to speak with your professional license defense attorney about it. Your attorney will use their years of experience helping other nurses in similar situations, plus their understanding of your particular case, to advise you on what steps to take next.

In many cases, when the nurse brings a relapse to the attention of their BON, the result may be an extension of the probation period, an increase in the frequency of the random drug or alcohol testing, and a requirement that the nurse take steps with their therapist to address the issues that prompted the relapse. These are all points that can be raised by your attorney. In this kind of situation, it is almost always better to be proactive about notifying the Board of a relapse than waiting for the BON to learn about it from another source.

The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team Can Help if You've Failed a Drug or Alcohol Test

If you're a nurse who is working after being placed on probation by your state's Board of Nursing or who is in an alternative to discipline program and you have failed a drug or alcohol test, you need help. If you're on probation, you could have the probation revoked and may face suspension or revocation of your license. If you're in an alternative to discipline program, you could be terminated from the program and forced to face disciplinary consequences for the misconduct allegations that resulted in you enrolling in the program to begin with.

In either case, you need an experienced advocate, someone who understands not only the laws, regulations, and procedures that relate to nursing disciplinary cases but also has experience with drug test-related issues. The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team includes attorneys who understand how state nursing boards react to positive drug tests. Our attorneys also know that a positive test isn't necessarily the end of the road for your license and that, in many cases, there are explanations for why a nurse tests positive for drugs or alcohol that have nothing to do with the nurse violating the terms of their probation or alternative to discipline program.

When you work with one of our experienced attorneys, you will have someone on your side who will fight for your rights and who will advocate for you if you fail a drug or alcohol test. At the Lento Law Firm, our goal is to help you protect your license, your livelihood, and your reputation. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation. Tell us about your case, and we will tell you how we can help.

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Attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm are committed to answering your questions about Physician License Defense, Nursing License Defense, Pharmacist License Defense, Psychologist and Psychiatrist License Defense, Dental License Defense, Chiropractic License Defense, Real Estate License Defense, Professional Counseling License Defense, and Other Professional Licenses law issues nationwide.
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