Marijuana being considered for pilots

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It's legal in Canada for ATC and pilots to use cannabis:

I always wonder how they determine whether or not someone is under the influence right now with that, or if there's a threshold for testing to see if you busted the 28 days, or if it's just completely on the honor system. And unless Canadians get the same kind of crazy vacation accrual, I don't see how that many people are going 28+days without working anyway, barring being on disability or something.
 
I don’t think under the current zeitgeist that mental health treatment is going to get a lot of traction. Unless you have a proposal to treat it with beef tallow and testosterone supplements. And that’s not a political take, that’s a realistic look at where we are as a country.

Or someone happens to run the only government approved dispensary for DOT regulated employees....

In the long run, it is always about the dollar.
 
No legal advice here. There doesn't seem to be an "industrialized" test for establishing impairment with the devil's lettuce.

“...the RTI team concluded that, although THC has been proven to affect areas of the brain that control movement, balance, coordination, memory, and judgment,[3] – skills required for safe driving – THC levels in biofluids were not reliable indicators of marijuana intoxication for their study participants.”

“The proof of THC impairment often takes the form of witness testimony establishing driving and driver behavior, results of standardized field sobriety tests, and drug recognition evaluations.”


 
I support marijuana legalization, and I think this idea is nuts. Mild cognitive deficit is a well-established effect of regular THC use. The cognitive effects do not immediately go away once intoxication (the high from THC) dissipates, and as someone else said, there is no reliable way to determine if someone is intoxicated or impaired from THC. Thanks to Uncle Sam outlawing THC for decades, there is a dearth of research on the long-term effects of use. We simply lack sufficient data to know most of the long-term effects of THC use, but what we do know is not encouraging. A growing body of data links THC use to increased risks of psychosis and dementia. We just don't know how long after THC use it is safe to fly, given that its cognitive effects are not fully understood. Do we really want to allow pilots to use THC and take to the skies?
 
I support marijuana legalization, and I think this idea is nuts. Mild cognitive deficit is a well-established effect of regular THC use. The cognitive effects do not immediately go away once intoxication (the high from THC) dissipates, and as someone else said, there is no reliable way to determine if someone is intoxicated or impaired from THC. Thanks to Uncle Sam outlawing THC for decades, there is a dearth of research on the long-term effects of use. We simply lack sufficient data to know most of the long-term effects of THC use, but what we do know is not encouraging. A growing body of data links THC use to increased risks of psychosis and dementia. We just don't know how long after THC use it is safe to fly, given that its cognitive effects are not fully understood. Do we really want to allow pilots to use THC and take to the skies?
The same issues are present with alcohol use, as well. It's rare that pilots get 30+ days off, maybe once per year for the people who do, so if you implement the Canadian 28 day rule, then it really isn't an issue.
 
Now do mental health, cowards.

I don’t think under the current zeitgeist that mental health treatment is going to get a lot of traction. Unless you have a proposal to treat it with beef tallow and testosterone supplements. And that’s not a political take, that’s a realistic look at where we are as a country.

They are.

HR 2591 (Mental Health in Aviation Act) is a bipartisan bill which aims to destigmatize seeking mental health care among pilots and those in aviation while also encouraging pilots to seek help with mental health issues without fear of losing their livelihood. It also wants to reclassify and approve additional medications for pilots. It passed in the House last year but is still pending in the Senate.

The Senate proposed their own identical bipartisan bill earlier this year (S. 3257) which is waiting to be voted on. It's expected to pass.

So it seems as though they are finally doing something about it even if it's a little step at a time. Hopefully the conversation around mental health in aviation is finally changing.
 
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