John Hamilton

For the purposes of this discussion - I don't want it to degenerate into a “The FAA should allow it”.
I'm working on the well-advertised view and advice that while many states may have legalized marijuana for recreational use - flying is a federal matter and at a Federal level it is still illegal.  Thus “Flying under the Influence” is a bust.

Wondering how this affects the following scenario:

In a state where recreational marijuana is legal - there is a large public event / festival / street party.  The air is heavy with secondhand smoke from marijuana consumption.  To the point that once stood away from the event in clear air - clothing, hair and beard/mustache are tainted with the smoke and it can still be smelled.

Thus for sure (as I used to work in an environment where this testing took place) a hair clipping sample would come up positive for marijuana - indicating you had been in the presence of it.  Which in certain zero tolerance scenarios would get you sanctioned (loss of job / expulsion from academia being two examples).

Given the heavy secondhand smoke - I conjecture (but do not know) that you might not actually pass a “pee in the cup” test soon after exposure in this environment.

A self-assessment for IM SAFE may not give the correct result if you are mildly cognitively affected.

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Within a time period of exposure - there is an accident. The accident is 100% the result of a mechanical failure and your decision making was sufficiently good that you avoided any harm to persons and walked away, but the plane is a write off and a zealous official has you drug tested.  And you “fail”.  The FAA now take an interest - whether as part of an NTSB investigation or when you have to fill in a Medical Application in the near future and not lie.

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Saying “avoid the event/party” is not an acceptable answer/idea.  I literally and unexpectedly ran into such a scenario this weekend. I simply had no choice but to end up exposed for 3+ hours.

I seriously considered the wisdom of flying the next morning - not because I felt impaired - but because of the possible consequence of such a scenario.

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So has this happened yet?  Is there any “case law” of what to do?

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For the purposes of this discussion - I don't want it to degenerate into a “The FAA should allow it”.
I'm working on the well-advertised view and advice that while many states may have legalized marijuana for recreational use - flying is a federal matter and at a Federal level it is still illegal.  Thus “Flying under the Influence” is a bust.

Wondering how this affects the following scenario:

In a state where recreational marijuana is legal - there is a large public event / ... more