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Hello TLSers,

I am a 3L and on the verge of beginning my legal career in private practice at a law firm upon graduation. I also smoke weed on a regular basis, but only late in the evening when I have no responsibilities to tend to. It helps me calm down and go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Anyway, I have a silly question: how is weed generally looked upon in the legal field/private practice? It is my understanding that there is a real problem with alcohol and cocaine abuse in the legal field, but I have yet to hear of lawyers who smoke weed. I am probably a little paranoid, I know, but I am just curious to hear about the personal experiences of others.

A lot people I went to school with occasionally still do. I think only one of my friends fits in the category of smoking most nights though. If you can still be productive doing that each night more power to you. I still wouldn’t talk about it at the office though.

For reference I’m in my second year of practice.

Don’t talk about it at work and should be fine. If a large firm, it’s very unlikely you will be drug tested pre-employment.

I've worked at two large big law firms and was surprised by the number of attorneys who blaze. Not at work, but at home. Drug testing has never been hinted at.

Massive, MASSIVE * California

Probably would quit big law if I couldn't blaze after work to help deal with stress. If you are in a major market, a lot of people will smoke, just don't talk about it at work. I worked at a top NYC firm and some people knew I smoked but those were the guys I would be out drinking with at 2 am.

RaceJudicata wrote:Don’t talk about it at work and should be fine. If a large firm, it’s very unlikely you will be drug tested pre-employment.

However, if you ever decide to go in house, be prepared to be tested. I imagine that's industry specific to some extent, but it certainly happens.

albanach wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:Don’t talk about it at work and should be fine. If a large firm, it’s very unlikely you will be drug tested pre-employment.

However, if you ever decide to go in house, be prepared to be tested. I imagine that's industry specific to some extent, but it certainly happens.

As someone who has worked in HR, I can't reiterate this any more. Some companies are pretty stringent w/ drug testing.

foregetaboutdre wrote:

albanach wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:Don’t talk about it at work and should be fine. If a large firm, it’s very unlikely you will be drug tested pre-employment.

However, if you ever decide to go in house, be prepared to be tested. I imagine that's industry specific to some extent, but it certainly happens.

As someone who has worked in HR, I can't reiterate this any more. Some companies are pretty stringent w/ drug testing.

Yeah I've heard of in-house counsel being fired due to a failed drug test.

A 1L who split their summer between my firm and a client got no offered when the client drug tested him and he came up positive.

NY biglaw - I know a number of people who do this regularly and the stigma is similar to alcohol or whatever other vices you partake in in your free time and it's generally a bad idea to be transparent on this point to seniors (whatever the vice) because all they care about is your adequate performance. It's up to each person to conduct yourself like a professional and do what it takes to meet their senior's expectations without making their personal decisions the senior's problem.

Frankly, every time you receive or send an email after say 9 pm there's some chance that the sender or recipient is not sober because that's how adults operate. Just comes down to a day to day decision of what does one expect this evening/weekend and in light of that is it reasonable to be intoxicated.

I'm unaware of any firms that drug test but it wouldn't surprise me if we've agreed to it somewhere.

foregetaboutdre wrote:

albanach wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:Don’t talk about it at work and should be fine. If a large firm, it’s very unlikely you will be drug tested pre-employment.

However, if you ever decide to go in house, be prepared to be tested. I imagine that's industry specific to some extent, but it certainly happens.

As someone who has worked in HR, I can't reiterate this any more. Some companies are pretty stringent w/ drug testing.

I forgot drug tests were even a thing. How common is this at silicon valley/beach companies? Thinking along the lines of Snap, Amazon, SalesForce, Dropbox, etc?

Anonymous User wrote:NY biglaw - I know a number of people who do this regularly and the stigma is similar to alcohol or whatever other vices you partake in in your free time and it's generally a bad idea to be transparent on this point to seniors (whatever the vice) because all they care about is your adequate performance. It's up to each person to conduct yourself like a professional and do what it takes to meet their senior's expectations without making their personal decisions the senior's problem.

Frankly, every time you receive or send an email after say 9 pm there's some chance that the sender or recipient is not sober because that's how adults operate. Just comes down to a day to day decision of what does one expect this evening/weekend and in light of that is it reasonable to be intoxicated.

I'm unaware of any firms that drug test but it wouldn't surprise me if we've agreed to it somewhere.

FWIW my firm has it in our employee handbook the right to drug test us I think upon reasonable suspicion (and to terminate a positive test)... if you're in a lull they sometimes are a fun read bc not everything in the handbook is followed.

SmokeytheBear wrote:

foregetaboutdre wrote:

albanach wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:Don’t talk about it at work and should be fine. If a large firm, it’s very unlikely you will be drug tested pre-employment.

However, if you ever decide to go in house, be prepared to be tested. I imagine that's industry specific to some extent, but it certainly happens.

As someone who has worked in HR, I can't reiterate this any more. Some companies are pretty stringent w/ drug testing.

I forgot drug tests were even a thing. How common is this at silicon valley/beach companies? Thinking along the lines of Snap, Amazon, SalesForce, Dropbox, etc?

Definitely not common.

rpupkin wrote:

SmokeytheBear wrote:

foregetaboutdre wrote:

albanach wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:Don’t talk about it at work and should be fine. If a large firm, it’s very unlikely you will be drug tested pre-employment.

However, if you ever decide to go in house, be prepared to be tested. I imagine that's industry specific to some extent, but it certainly happens.

As someone who has worked in HR, I can't reiterate this any more. Some companies are pretty stringent w/ drug testing.

I forgot drug tests were even a thing. How common is this at silicon valley/beach companies? Thinking along the lines of Snap, Amazon, SalesForce, Dropbox, etc?

Definitely not common.

Yeah didnt think so. Just talked with my brother who works at one of those companies as an engineer and he laughed when I asked.

I love California.

If oyu have any interest in big fed, I'd stop.

I used to smoke a lot too and it caused MAJOR headaches during my background checks for USAO.

From what I've heard, smoking after bar passage for example is almost always an auto-fail.

Anonymous User wrote:If oyu have any interest in big fed, I'd stop.

I used to smoke a lot too and it caused MAJOR headaches during my background checks for USAO.

From what I've heard, smoking after bar passage for example is almost always an auto-fail.

Your advice applies to some jobs but not others. (USAO is a small subset of "big fed.")

The heaviest pot smoker I know is a federal government lawyer.

Anonymous User wrote:If oyu have any interest in big fed, I'd stop.

I used to smoke a lot too and it caused MAJOR headaches during my background checks for USAO.

From what I've heard, smoking after bar passage for example is almost always an auto-fail.

Can you elaborate on what kind of headaches it caused, and what ultimately came of your background check?

Just another opinion for the pile, in law school about half of my friends smoked, including quite a few top 15% and law review types.

I know secondhand that most of that group still does at least occasionally, but in a state where it isn't as big of a deal (CO, CA).

From my experience: No drug testing at any of my judicial positions/internships including federal judicial externship, but I interned at a corporation in-house legal department in California no less, and the paperwork I signed seemed to indicate that all salaried/full-time employees did have to take a drug test (even though I didn't). Maybe an outlier by CA standards, but supports the in-house thing.

rpupkin wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:If oyu have any interest in big fed, I'd stop.

I used to smoke a lot too and it caused MAJOR headaches during my background checks for USAO.

From what I've heard, smoking after bar passage for example is almost always an auto-fail.

Your advice applies to some jobs but not others. (USAO is a small subset of "big fed.")

The heaviest pot smoker I know is a federal government lawyer.

Do any fed gov agencies even ask about it (or drug test) besides fed prosecution related entities? I've never been asked about drug use or been drug tested and I'm pretty sure the non-USAO fed gov attys I know also have not. I don't think anyone really even cares (unless you're coming to work high or something like that). I've been practicing law for several years now, and my general feeling about drug use generally is that most legal related employers (such as, law firms, government, and public interest) don't ask about it or drug test with the exception being companies and stuff like that (but they often have a drug use policy in-place and drug test across the board, including upper management in some companies). It's certainly possible some odd-ball legal organizations do drug-test, but I feel like that's not the norm (unlike in other professions). Obviously, there's really no way of knowing what all organizations do, though, since no has compiled data re: drug usage policies and enforcement of those policies in legal orgs. The best bet is to simply be clean before starting a job, so that you could pass a drug test if you needed to, figure out what the drug policy is and what, if anything, the place does to enforce (e.g. do they randomly drug test), and go from there.

njkga wrote:

LJL at believing pot and heroin are the same thing.

Nebby wrote:

njkga wrote:

LJL at believing pot and heroin are the same thing.

Nebby wrote:

njkga wrote:

LJL at believing pot and heroin are the same thing.

Dude, my friend's sister smoked three marijuanas and died.

rpupkin wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:If oyu have any interest in big fed, I'd stop.

I used to smoke a lot too and it caused MAJOR headaches during my background checks for USAO.

From what I've heard, smoking after bar passage for example is almost always an auto-fail.

Your advice applies to some jobs but not others. (USAO is a small subset of "big fed.")

The heaviest pot smoker I know is a federal government lawyer.

That's fair.

Wonder how many of you guys are driving while the drug is still in your system.


Are you not worried about picking up a charge?

Anonymous User wrote:Wonder how many of you guys are driving while the drug is still in your system.


Are you not worried about picking up a charge?

Do you wonder the same thing about people who have a drink after work?