Drug Double Standards

Is it okay with you if your pilot is on Prozac? Your checkout girl on prescription painkillers? What if your accountant is smoking medical marijuana for chronic pain?

While antidepressants, painkillers and even marijuana for medical reasons are all legal (the latter only in some states), that doesn’t mean you can take them and continue to do your job.

Until just recently, the Federal Aviation Administration forbade pilots from taking any type of antidepressants. This forced pilots to either quit flying, take antidepressants on the sly or admit the problems they were having and almost surely fail their physical exam, a possible career-ender.

Collin Hughes, aka The Prozac Pilot, took to the Internet to tell his story of depression and walking away from his career in the clouds. Aware of the stigma, he didn’t tell anyone why he was leaving, until a recent report on CNN when he came forward. Fortunately for Hughes, new FAA rules may allow him back in the cockpit.

Drugs in the Workplace

Of course, that doesn’t help grounded hourly workers who find themselves at odds with employers over failed drug tests, even if the substance is one that has been prescribed to them by a doctor. It turns out that while medical marijuana is legal in more than a handful of states, that doesn’t guarantee your boss won’t fire you for partaking -- even when you’re off the clock.

Meanwhile, other workers do their jobs while under the influence of powerful painkillers, often without anyone knowing. For many, the drugs are needed to manage legitimate pain, for others, the substances have long outgrown their usefulness and are now part of the problem and not the solution.

Help with Drugs in the Workplace

If you or someone you love is battling a drug addiction, call The Canyon at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.