The War on Drugs: A Success Story

I'm too impatient to wait for an answer. ;)

If you're under 18, your record is a secret, and you could very easily not inform a prospective employer about the charge.

If you're over 18, I'd suggest trying to find an attorney (that you can afford, obviously; you might be able to find a law student to do it pro bono) and trying to get your record expunged. It's possible.

I read somewhere that he was 20 I think.

Thanks, Mike.

That was going to be my next suggestion, Danny. Either contact NORML or a law school in your area. Here's one. NORML's site has a lawyer search, and I also found this information on their legal committee interesting, and it would probably be helpful for you.

Good luck!

There's a lot of things that piss me off about this "war on drugs," one of them being that the stigma attached to a young person when they're convicted of even misdemeanor marijuana charges, lasts a long, long time.

So he paid his fine, he completed his 4-hour drug course, he passed his drug screen, and went on with his life. He decided to quit smoking weed, despite his enjoyment for it, because he felt it wasn't worth the legal risk, and because it was, perhaps, partially to blame for distracting him from his eventual goal of enrolling in college to pursue the career of his choice.

You did the crime, you did the time, and you even went so far as to learn and change from the experience, yet you're still being pulled down by it. Argh.

Good luck to you. I hope some of the above is helpful.

The sad thing is Danny, that if you would've been drinking and driving, there would probably be no employer stigma attached.

I'm sorry this happened to you. I don't agree with the mj laws in the US, but they are what they are. Good luck on your attempts to get the record expunged.

BTW -- it this is a misdemeanor charge (most states are, if it's less than an oz) why do you have to tell potential employers?

Then I'd attempt to get it expunged if I were you. Or skip that part of the application. You never saw it! Oops! OMG! I didn't even see that! I'm so sorry!

Okay, now I feel bad. So here's some advice instead.

Instead of applying for a major corporation, apply for a local business, preferably a sole proprietor business. If you're as impressive as you say you are in interviews, you should easily be able to overcome the drug charge. The pay probably won't be as good, and benefits probably won't be as good, but it might just get you through the next few months while you're getting settled.

If the worst comes, there's always food service. Not like McDonald's or anything, but find a nice local restaurant or restaurant chain to get hired at. I worked for a small chain of diners when I was 19 or 20 or so for about 20 months. Nice people.

Turnover in food service is also high, so they're usually hiring (at least around here, that is).

Another thing I just thought of: you might check to see if there's a US-PIRG or FL-PIRG group in your area. They do things like canvassing for various progressive and liberal campaigns. I worked for one for a little while one winter.

The pay is really not good, but you get to keep abreast of various issues going on, global, national, and local.

Yeah, I've seen the cost benefit analysis. It completely sucks...

Ironically (or not, I guess), this notion of turning to a life of crime is exactly what happens to many young people who've been busted on a minor drug charge. They're left in a situation like Danny's and have even less of a support system. There's no background checks when you want to become a small-time drug dealer.

You don't suppose the pushers of this war on drugs meant for it to turn out that way, do you?

Darn it, Viki, you beat me to it.

Back in the day I knew a lot of folks who turned to distribution and/or manufacturing b/c legal gainful employment wasn't possible due to previous offenses. Good people, with bad records. Sadly, our legal system isn't designed for rehabilitation.

I knew a few of those myself, back in the day. It's really unfortunate, and I can't help but think that things are set up this way on purpose.

Beat me to it Djehuty.

I knew a few of those myself, back in the day. It's really unfortunate, and I can't help but think that things are set up this way on purpose.

It would be plausible, but plausibility is not truth, I have been told. But then again truth isn't necessarily plausible, so where does that leave us?

Once the federal drug war ends this will be allowed to correct itself. But unless some real radicals get into office, the drug war's not going to change. Considering that Democrats and Republicans both have allowed the drug war to go on, I'd say that there's quite a bit of support for the notion that it is set up like this. At least it doesn't only hurt black people, though, right? They're the ones that have been hurt the most by this nonsensical and wasteful war and the worthless prison system. But the times are a'changin' by force or necessity, they're changing.

Stop whining, step up to the plate, and be a man.

Are you serious? It looks like he's asking for some advice not, as you so casually dub it, "whining".

Yeah, take some @!$%# McJob which grinds down your soul while exploiting you for pennies, all because the system is uptight about an eighth of an ounce of a substance less dangerous than alchohol or tobacco. Don't whine.

That said, Robert, your advice is sensible. Nothing is as bad as it seems - and with determination and perspective anything can be endured, outlasted, and overcome. But it's not fair or wise or just that the penalties for drugs be like this.

Beat me to it again Djehuty.

Robert's right, in a callous fashion, Danny. Now you have the excuse and the necessity to travel. If it weren't for the network news vilifying drifters it wouldn't be that bad. I also hear there are ways to rig your car up to run on water pretty easily, and I will be testing this out in the near future. Something to look into if you're driving a lot.

Think about it, man. You're free. The system has said it does not want you and now you can live. I'd suggest looking up edible plants online and figuring out how to hunt 'coons and squirrels, while you still have access to the internet.

You can probably get odd jobs in small towns every day. Under the table payment. Milk the farmer's cows, but don't sleep with his daughter.

I'm betting that sounds more romantic than it is, Yuriy.

Oh, I didn't mean that sort of romantic, lesn' you have a thing for cows...

Interesting plans with the water engine, though I wonder if there's enough energy in burning H and O2 to make up for that lost in lysing it.

Oh, and don't blow yourself up. Hydrogen can be dangerous stuff.

Should be. You hit it at the right frequency and bam.

Haha, tester for EA Sports? This little problem of yours might just turn out to be the best career move, ever. Enjoy!

I hadn't considered a call center, but I'll check that out. I also just remembered that one of my friends works as a play tester for EA Sports (I know, coolest job ever, right?) and they don't even drug test there. From what my friend says, at least half of his coworkers are stoned all day on the job.

I always wondered how you got a job like that. I assumed that I being a friend of someone running the games had a lot to do with it, since it's a job that pretty much anybody would want.

Haha, tester for EA Sports? This little problem of yours might just turn out to be the best career move, ever. Enjoy!

LOL, I must agree.

I am so sorry to hear you are having such a rough time. I also agree with the other comments that you could utilize your creativity and have some great experiences along the way.

Although I don't condone dishonesty usually, I'd leave the conviction off future applications and at the same time work diligently at obtaining some pro bono legal help to get the conviction expunged.

In the meantime, I'll keep my eye out for any viable opportunities for you, since I'm in the area.

I'm with firsty here.

Background checks are extremely expensive, and unless your position requires some measure of security clearance or something along those lines, they likely won't perform one.

If you said so, I missed it, so I'm going to ask again: are you stating on an application that you were convicted of this charge, in the little space where they ask? Because unless some things have changed drastically, they usually only want to know about felonies.

Wow.

I've only applied for one job in the last 12 years, and that was at a police department, so I expected all of that. I guess things have changed. Or, maybe you need to get the hell out of Florida. ;)

Ron Paul, Mike Gravel, and Dennis Kucinich would all be steps in the right direction.

I think Ron Paul's policy is the most sensible, though. Let towns and cities regulate at will.

broom

Marijuana can be a gateway drug ....to more marijuana.

(Check in on Utopia sometime, duuuuude.)

And yes, marijuana laws are purely retarded.

Let's face it. You're LUCKY that the jackboots didn't confiscate your vehicle, as is their right, when illegal substances are present. We've got many retarded laws, hence the burgeoning prison industrial complex which is nothing less than an assault on poor people. You know, the ones who work for their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (or...who can't afford a lawyer, bail, or a doctor, for that matter)

You're just full of creative ideas today.

The Amish smoke reefer? I did not know that.

I grew up about 10 miles from a large Amish community. With no makeup, the girls were not hot in our traditional American pop sense. Some of them were creamery butt-ah, though.

but it's still a living.

The Amish smoke reefer? I did not know that.

I've heard of someone seeing a group of teenage boys in the woods smoking it. Washington smoked, in fact.

There's an idea. Are there still communes around? Sign me up! I was born too late.

BTW, here's a brief introduction to expungement.

I'm sorry you found that disturbing, but it's better to know in the long run. When battling bureaucracy, you need to know your rights. Knowledge is power.

Good luck.

The cost of living in Guam is pretty cheep I understand, and there's a snake infestation so land's going like crazy right now, and technically it's in the United States. Plus it's the perfect weather for old people.

I like Kucinich, and this might sound ridiculous to you coming from a Ron Paul supporter, but Kucinich has never had a chance to do anything. Ron Paul is actually making waves. That's why I'm on his ship. I'm going to see Dr. Ron Paul this Saturday in Nashville, btw.

That article was one of the biggest pieces of crap I've read in a long time.

Thanks Danny. For whatever reason this article wasn't automatically added to my tracker. I thought it was.

I appreciate the support.

Yuriy,

I thought your Ron Paul article was quite clever and well written.

Thanks Brenda. Some people loved it and some hated it. I just hope I managed to subliminally reach some detractors.

What part of Southern California, if you don't mind my asking?