Dear Pot Lawyer,
Can medical professionals lose their licenses if they use cannabis?
It depends—on the severity of the use and whether it is affecting a medical professional’s services. Merely using cannabis, like alcohol, is not a ground for revocation of a nursing, dentistry, or pharmacy license in Oregon. Those types of licenses can’t be revoked without due process through a disciplinary procedure before a medical board. Generally, it isn’t until their use rises to the level of a true substance abuse problem that medical professionals might face disciplinary action.
Oregon law lays out the grounds upon which a dentist may be suspended (in ORS 679.140): They include criminal convictions, “unprofessional conduct,” and impairment. Licenses for pharmacists and nurses can be revoked for similar reasons, and none of the grounds for revocation include the occasional use of legal cannabis.
But if cannabis use leads to impairment or incapacity, or the professional commits a cannabis-related crime, the relevant board could bring disciplinary action.