Hello all, allow me to give some back story to the rather vague and attention grabbing topic. I’ve been living in Taiwan legally for three years now, never had any legal issues or problems, not the reckless party goer or trouble maker type (not that there is anything inherently wrong with partying), but I’ve also had a prolapsed lumbar disc for over a year now. The doctors although very helpful otherwise, are simply terrible at pain management here. I’m not for or against drugs on a morals standpoint, but I simply do not like taking pills when avoidable and on top of that the medication the doctor was giving me was simply ineffective for the pain and came with too many unpleasant side effects. I was already on the strongest stuff he was allowed to prescribe (tramadol, gabapentin or something similar, and some weak muscle relaxant). I’ve generally got a pretty good handle on dealing with pain, but if you’ve ever had an injury like this and the intense sciatic nerve pain that it constantly provides, you know what a living hell it is. I tried everything from stretching and light, careful exercises to complete resting, I tried acupuncture and some type of traditional Chinese massage thing (very painful), and even did a couple months of modern physical therapy at a clinic. None of it worked for me and the doctor finally has an operation scheduled for me for the end of July. I’m originally from Hawaii which is a VERY cannabis friendly state. Although it’s not legal there, it may as well be, and I have used it recreationally from time to time over there. I haven’t used it in Taiwan because I know how very different the climate here is on that subject, and although I much prefer it to alcohol, I abstained for legal reasons as my freedom and ability to live in Taiwan is more important to me than getting stoned from time to time 
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Onward to recent times, well, I’ve been broken by the pain and my inability to do ANYTHING about it. I have a handful of friends here (both foreign and Taiwanese) that are near daily smokers and they were happy to help me out. It’s been an absolute miracle and my pain is almost not even there just smoking a small amount in the morning and the evening. Of course I’ll still need the operation though, and here is where my uncertainty lies: the doctor already told me they will do a basic pre-operation exam that will involve a blood test. Although I highly doubt they will be looking for drugs, I don’t really know the extent of a blood test and how they might react to it should they notice. Of course I could stop smoking till the operation and return to daily debilitating pain, but that is certainly undesirable if I’m just being paranoid.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
P.S. very loosely related, but I assume if my girlfriend and I got married, there would be some type of medical exam done anyway for ARC and national health insurance, would I have to worry there too? Of course once my surgery is done, I’ll most likely abstain from weed until Taiwan can get out of it’s reefer madness stage, but I sincerely appreciate any enlightenment on the subject. Thank you all!