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How Should a Physician Manage the Discovery of Off-Hour THC Use?
By Attorney Adam J. Schleis
Physicians in Wisconsin work long hours, handle life-and-death situations, and carry enormous responsibility. During off hours, many practitioners use THC to manage stress, pain, or simply to relax. Most of these professionals never use marijuana before or during work, and take care to ensure they are clear-headed when treating patients.
Perhaps one day, a colleague or patient makes an offhand comment suggesting an MD or surgeon seems impaired. An employer orders a drug test. The test comes back positive for THC. Suddenly, a physician’s medical license and entire career are at risk.
If this situation sounds familiar to you, you already know how high the stakes are. Even if your THC use is entirely off-duty and never affects your patient care, a positive drug test can trigger serious professional license consequences. You may be facing accusations of violating your employment contract.
The way you respond to an investigation in 2026 can mean the difference between keeping your license and losing your career. Don’t handle this alone; don’t let small issues derail your career and damage your reputation. Let our Wisconsin professional license defense attorney help.
What Happens When You Test Positive for THC as a Licensed Physician in Wisconsin?
When you test positive for THC, you face immediate and serious consequences. Your employer will likely place you on administrative leave while they investigate. They may report the positive test to the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board, which has the authority to investigate and discipline physicians under Wisconsin Statutes Section 448.02.
The Medical Examining Board can take action against your license. This includes:
- Requiring you to enter a monitoring program
- Placing restrictions on your practice
- Suspending your license temporarily
- Revoking your license permanently
The board's concern is patient safety, and they view any drug use by a physician as potentially compromising that safety. With most illegal drugs, this is entirely understandable.
But here’s where the situation becomes murky with marijuana: Standard drug tests for THC can’t tell when someone last used cannabis or whether someone was impaired at the time of testing. Unlike alcohol testing, which can measure current impairment through blood alcohol content, THC testing has major practical limitations. When you use cannabis, THC is metabolized into compounds that are stored in fat cells. These metabolites are released slowly over time, causing positive tests long after any psychoactive effects have worn off.
Someone who uses a THC product on Friday evening could test positive the following Monday morning despite being completely sober and unimpaired. For regular users, detection windows can last for weeks. This means a positive test only proves you used THC at some point in the recent past. It does not prove you were impaired at work or that your patient care was affected in any way.
This creates a situation where skilled doctors, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other physicians face career-ending consequences based on off-duty conduct that had no impact on their professional performance.
Can You Lose Your Medical License for Off-Duty THC Use in Wisconsin?
You absolutely can lose your medical license for off-duty THC use in Wisconsin. Marijuana of any kind is illegal, even for medical use. The Medical Examining Board does not distinguish between on-duty and off-duty drug use when evaluating violations.
Instead, they take the approach that any illegal drug use by a physician demonstrates poor judgment and raises questions about their fitness to practice medicine. Even if you used THC legally in another state or used it for medical purposes with a valid recommendation from another state, Wisconsin can still take action against your license.
The consequences become even more severe if you test positive after an accusation of being impaired at work. Even if that accusation was completely unfounded, the combination of the complaint and the positive test creates a narrative that suggests you were using THC in a way that affected your work. This makes it much harder to defend your license.
What Should a Wisconsin Physician Do After Receiving a Board Complaint for Off-Duty Marijuana Use?
When the Medical Examining Board files a complaint against your license, you have the right to a hearing. This hearing is similar to a court proceeding where evidence is presented and witnesses testify. The board must prove its case against you, and you have the opportunity to defend yourself.
However, these hearings are difficult legal proceedings with their own rules and procedures. Medical Examining Board hearings follow different rules than criminal court or civil court. The standard of proof is lower than in criminal cases, and the board isn’t exactly a normal jury. It has significant discretion in how it interprets evidence and applies discipline.
An attorney who focuses on professional license defense understands how the Medical Examining Board works and what strategies work in these cases. They can help you respond to the initial accusation in a way that protects your rights while showing you take patient safety seriously.
Perhaps most importantly, an attorney can present your case in a way that emphasizes your competence as a physician, your commitment to patient safety, and the lack of any evidence that your behavior actually harmed or endangered patients.
A good attorney may be able to negotiate with the board to reach an agreement that allows you to keep your license. These agreements might include monitoring, continuing education, supervision requirements, or temporary practice restrictions. While not ideal, these outcomes are far better than license revocation.
Contact a Milwaukee Professional License Defense Attorney Today
If you are a physician of any kind facing accusations of workplace impairment or dealing with a positive drug test for THC use, your medical license and your career are at stake. You need an experienced attorney who understands Wisconsin licensing law who can keep something small like this from damaging your reputation.
At Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP, our Wisconsin professional license defense lawyer, Attorney Adam J. Schleis, has successfully defended physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals against Medical Examining Board complaints. Attorney Schleis has over 10 years of legal experience. His creative practice allows him to dig deep to strategize and put his clients in the best position possible.
When so much is at stake, your best bet is to have an attorney who knows how to work with the Department of Safety and Professional Services and other state agencies. We also help licensed professionals who are accused of violating their employment or physician’s contract.
Fight unfounded accusations and protect your right to practice medicine by calling Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP at 414-271-1440 today for a confidential consultation.
