I realize that this turned into a wall of text. See TLDR.
I made the decision to seek psychiatric care for what I believe to be ADHD. At my new patient appointment, after being drug tested at the door, we discussed my occasional use of marijuana. They made me agree to completely stop consuming weed and in no certain terms said they would drug test me in a month’s time to make sure I actually quit.
I understand that there is some concern that marijuana can worsen ADHD. I am not in a position to challenge my care provider on the science of the matter. What I don’t understand is why they are taking such overbearing measures to make sure I abstain from marijuana.
For example, when I had a colonoscopy performed a couple of years ago, I was advised by my doctor not to consume any food or liquids within a certain window before the procedure. I simply agreed to fast during that period and that was it. They trusted me to be an adult and follow their instructions. They didn’t check for food in my stomach when I arrived at the hospital.
I should note that this practice primarily practices substance abuse treatment. Could this be a side effect of some zero-tolerance policy? Or do they really believe that smoking marijuana is that detrimental to my well-being?
TLDR; Dr asked me to quit smoking weed in order to get access to treatment. And said they would drug test me.
- Did your Dr also mention marijuana?
- Did they drug test you?
I have been moving around over the years and have been shocked at the varying quality of care I have received for my ADHD. Some Drs just took my old prescription no question asked. Others required me to come in once a month for 3 months to “establish care” before giving me the option to request refills without physically seeing them (it’s much more common for them to only want to see me once every 4 months and they will write prescriptions in-between). One actually gave me a very unpleasant lecture about how he didn’t believe I should be taking be taking the medication at all because that and taking birth control would ruin my chance at having children. To answer your question, I have never been required to take a marijuana drug test before getting a prescription , that just sounds crazy and controlling. You mentioned hat the facility mainly provides substance abuse care, and I think you might be on to something there. If you choose to continue with that facility ask them questions about their medication policies is general. Like is this a one time thing or are they going to withhold your prescription if you can’t pass a monthly drug test? Is it their facility’s policy that patients are expected to abstain from all non-prescription drugs to receive care, or is it just this instance? If you have your diagnosis and dosage you may want to consider changing the Dr, care facility, or both. Best of luck.