Special issuance medical

[UnburntFuel]

Hello just a quick question about getting a special issuance. I have a appointment with a Hims Psych in March over marijuana charge and I have no reason (personally) why he would write me off as dependent. I have not used in 6 years and have been taking drug test for aprox. 7 months out of the 12 that my hims AME recommended. If he writes me off as in good health/standing and the air surgeon agrees how long does it usually take to get your special issuance? Also how long does it take (if ever) to get rid of the "special issuance" and get a full first class medical? Thanks to anyone

 

[Jon Wilder]

Hello just a quick question about getting a special issuance. I have a appointment with a Hims Psych in March over marijuana charge and I have no reason (personally) why he would write me off as dependent. I have not used in 6 years and have been taking drug test for aprox. 7 months out of the 12 that my hims AME recommended. If he writes me off as in good health/standing and the air surgeon agrees how long does it usually take to get your special issuance? Also how long does it take (if ever) to get rid of the "special issuance" and get a full first class medical? Thanks to anyone

First off...assume that you will be written off as dependent. The HIMS psych isn't looking to give you a fair diagnosis. He's looking for any way he can (even if he has to lie on your eval) to make you fit the HIMS mold.

Everyone involved in the HIMS program has financial incentive for you to be in the HIMS program, not to get you out of it.

Take a study of 14 CFR 67.307(a)(4) -
Substance dependence, except where there is established clinical evidence, satisfactory to the Federal Air Surgeon, of recovery, including sustained total abstinence from the substance(s) for not less than the preceding 2 years. As used in this section—


(i) “Substance” includes: alcohol; other sedatives and hypnotics; anxiolytics; opioids; central nervous system stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamines, and similarly acting sympathomimetics; hallucinogens; phencyclidine or similarly acting arylcyclohexylamines; cannabis; inhalants; and other psychoactive drugs and chemicals; and

(ii) “Substance dependence” means a condition in which a person is dependent on a substance, other than tobacco or ordinary xanthine-containing (e.g., caffeine) beverages, as evidenced by—
(A) Increased tolerance;
(B) Manifestation of withdrawal symptoms;
(C) Impaired control of use; or
(D) Continued use despite damage to physical health or impairment of social, personal, or occupational functioning.

If you admit to ever in your life experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms (mine lied on one of these 4), you will be labeled substance dependent and will require special issuance.

I highly encourage you to retain an attorney and have them advise you from here on out. What you say at this evaluation is extremely critical. Joe LoRusso from Ramos Law and Soma Priddle are two such attorneys who specialize in HIMS cases.

 

[UnburntFuel]

First off...assume that you will be written off as dependent. The HIMS psych isn't looking to give you a fair diagnosis. He's looking for any way he can (even if he has to lie on your eval) to make you fit the HIMS mold.

Everyone involved in the HIMS program has financial incentive for you to be in the HIMS program, not to get you out of it.

Take a study of 14 CFR 67.307(a)(4) -
Substance dependence, except where there is established clinical evidence, satisfactory to the Federal Air Surgeon, of recovery, including sustained total abstinence from the substance(s) for not less than the preceding 2 years. As used in this section—


(i) “Substance” includes: alcohol; other sedatives and hypnotics; anxiolytics; opioids; central nervous system stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamines, and similarly acting sympathomimetics; hallucinogens; phencyclidine or similarly acting arylcyclohexylamines; cannabis; inhalants; and other psychoactive drugs and chemicals; and

(ii) “Substance dependence” means a condition in which a person is dependent on a substance, other than tobacco or ordinary xanthine-containing (e.g., caffeine) beverages, as evidenced by—
(A) Increased tolerance;
(B) Manifestation of withdrawal symptoms;
(C) Impaired control of use; or
(D) Continued use despite damage to physical health or impairment of social, personal, or occupational functioning.

If you admit to ever in your life experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms (mine lied on one of these 4), you will be labeled substance dependent and will require special issuance.

I highly encourage you to retain an attorney and have them advise you from here on out. What you say at this evaluation is extremely critical. Joe LoRusso from Ramos Law and Soma Priddle are two such attorneys who specialize in HIMS cases.

thank you for the reply and if I may ask how long have you been on a special issuance?! I've been looking at if you can get off of it but cant find it anywhere.. Not sure if its a permanent thing once you have it. Also I have heard some horror stories about people stuck in the Hims program hopeful it wont happen to me but only time will tell.

 

[Tools]

The faa is governing by unpublished internal policy and NOT letting anyone out.

Some have been extracted vis a vis a lawyer getting VERY crafty.

Published FARs CLEARLY delineate a way out. We’re hoping the NTSB will force the faa to start abiding by their own rules soon.

 

[UTLonghorn_1979]

First off...assume that you will be written off as dependent. The HIMS psych isn't looking to give you a fair diagnosis. He's looking for any way he can (even if he has to lie on your eval) to make you fit the HIMS mold.

Everyone involved in the HIMS program has financial incentive for you to be in the HIMS program, not to get you out of it.

Take a study of 14 CFR 67.307(a)(4) -
Substance dependence, except where there is established clinical evidence, satisfactory to the Federal Air Surgeon, of recovery, including sustained total abstinence from the substance(s) for not less than the preceding 2 years. As used in this section—


(i) “Substance” includes: alcohol; other sedatives and hypnotics; anxiolytics; opioids; central nervous system stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamines, and similarly acting sympathomimetics; hallucinogens; phencyclidine or similarly acting arylcyclohexylamines; cannabis; inhalants; and other psychoactive drugs and chemicals; and

(ii) “Substance dependence” means a condition in which a person is dependent on a substance, other than tobacco or ordinary xanthine-containing (e.g., caffeine) beverages, as evidenced by—
(A) Increased tolerance;
(B) Manifestation of withdrawal symptoms;
(C) Impaired control of use; or
(D) Continued use despite damage to physical health or impairment of social, personal, or occupational functioning.

If you admit to ever in your life experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms (mine lied on one of these 4), you will be labeled substance dependent and will require special issuance.

I highly encourage you to retain an attorney and have them advise you from here on out. What you say at this evaluation is extremely critical. Joe LoRusso from Ramos Law and Soma Priddle are two such attorneys who specialize in HIMS cases.

Increased tolerance is the biggest catch all/BS item. My wife’s tolerance has increased over the years and she’s as far away from alcohol dependent as someone that doesn’t drink.

Nonsense. Time to blow up this stupid and incredibly subjective means of evaluating applicants.

 

[Jon Wilder]

thank you for the reply and if I may ask how long have you been on a special issuance?! I've been looking at if you can get off of it but cant find it anywhere.. Not sure if its a permanent thing once you have it. Also I have heard some horror stories about people stuck in the Hims program hopeful it wont happen to me but only time will tell.

By the time they issued it, the medical certificate only had 45 days left on it. I immediately got my BasicMed established, then continued compliance with the special issuance until the medical certificate timed out, then walked away from it. I'm now free and clear on BasicMed.

If you have no intention of becoming a revenue pilot, BasicMed may be an option once you have a medical certificate in hand.

 

[Jon Wilder]

Increased tolerance is the biggest catch all/BS item. My wife’s tolerance has increased over the years and she’s as far away from alcohol dependent as someone that doesn’t drink.

Nonsense. Time to blow up this stupid and incredibly subjective means of evaluating applicants.

As I understand it, this regulation was written back when the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual for Mental Disorders was DSM-III. At that time, "substance abuse" and "substance dependence" were board recognized diagnoses. In DSM-III, there were nine criteria used to determine substance dependence, and you had to have experienced a minimum of three of the nine criteria within the same twelve month period to be diagnosed as substance dependent.

The FAA took and cherry picked four of the nine criteria, then removed the time and pattern requirement.

In the eyes of the FAA, the BAC must be suggestive of increased tolerance. Their threshold for such is 0.15 BAC.

But here is the thing...they're requiring you to undergo a substance abuse psych evaluation from a board certified psychiatrist, and he is expected to diagnose you with a diagnosis that is no longer recognized by the very board that certified them! How insane is this???

There needs to be a regulation that incorporates the current DSM standards for substance related diagnoses. Actual language stating that "the airman must be evaluated for substance related disorders based upon current DSM standards".

 

[Tools]

This pretty much sums it up…

The FAA doesn’t “practice” ANYTHING, they (attempt) to administrate it. That’s it.

Not safety, not medicine, not mechanics, not operations (except air traffic control, which often times is contracted out). It’s the second A…

So, what we wind up with in this context is an insurance fraud situation in most cases and malpractice.

They’ve already flown into the box canyon. Get their feet held to the fire (THAT is proving difficult), it’ll correct.

Don’t really need any more regulations, just need to enforce NORMAL. They’re already breaking every rule in existence, they just have faced no consequence. Congress already told them to produce the statistics on the efficacy of HIMS, they literally said “nah”. And no one cared. Sen Shaheen should have gone ballistic, proving it’s ALL been lip service.

Judges have been dismissing cases on motions to dismiss with pitiful justification, denying rights to justice. We’re gonna just keep trying.

 

[MVM19]

thank you for the reply and if I may ask how long have you been on a special issuance?! I've been looking at if you can get off of it but cant find it anywhere.. Not sure if its a permanent thing once you have it. Also I have heard some horror stories about people stuck in the Hims program hopeful it wont happen to me but only time will tell.

As a reference point — I received a special issuance medical roughly 2 years ago and I was released from special issuance requirements this year — so, 2 renewals later. My situation is different than yours (Adjustment Disorder — which is quite mild in the grand scheme of SIs), but I qualified for the new guidelines that the FAA released this year, and my HIMS AME advocated for me to be released from the program.

Even before I knew the new rules were coming out, I heard that if you show positive progress for multiple years, you can appeal or apply for them to reconsider whether or not special issuance is still required — so that's what I was planning on anyways. I'm not particularly sure how this process works, but it's something my AME mentioned. I don't think it is an easy process, but potentially doable. As with all things with the FAA though, YMMV. Good luck!