Marijuana possesion charge dropped. Any effect on employment?

Roger32

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 3, 2007
Messages
289
arrested and charged with marijuana possesion. Went to court, and stipulation was 6 months probation, no issues and all charges are dropped.

I am weeks away from that point now.



Once completed, no issues from this at all in regard to employment? (just graduated college).

I am looking to move out of state for my next job FYI
 
Many people think that once their charges have been dismissed, their record is "clean" or sealed which isn't the case at all. When charges are dropped, your arrest record remains unless you have the record expunged by the court, which is a process separate from having your charges dropped after meeting the terms of your probation. Typically, a period of time must pass before you can petition the court to have your record expunged; the length of time depends upon the state, your prior record, and the initial charge (anywhere from one to five years is standard).

If a prospective employer asks if you've ever been arrested, you'll have to say yes, because you were arrested, even though the charges were later dropped. A great deal of this depends upon your profession. Any profession requiring a license (lawyer, doctor, nurse, daycare provider, stock broker, etc.) will require a criminal background check that is much more extensive than the typical pre-employment background check and requires fingerprinting. Professional licensure boards cross-reference with police departments/courts for arrest and conviction records. And you don't have to be convicted to be denied a license--the licensure board may feel that a drug-related offense without a conviction is enough to deny you a license, or to at least require a hearing. That's very typical of medical and legal licensure boards.

So, the best advice I can give you is to have a full explanation ready for a potential employer, including: remorse, responsibility, and rehabilitation. That's what they want to hear.
 
You wont have a problem with background checks unless they are the kind of super indepth ones that the security, law enforcement, and other high-security kinda fields do....Like if you wanted to be a Dr or a Nurse they might go that deep into your records....Or w/ever...But to work at most any regular ass kinda job, no you wont have a problem.

The reason for that is that when you complete a diversion program like you did, or are about to do, you do not get a conviction. the program is designed to help you avoid havin a criminal record, so you wont get a conviction on your record.

The huge majority of jobs only do BG checks for CONVICTIONS, not charges, arrests, or w/ever.

for example i been arrested 3 times, the first time i completed a diversion program like you, and when i get BG checks, the only thing that shows up is my 2 later convictions. it dont show up as a conviction when u do a D.P. You will be fine unless you want to join the FBI or somethin equally as intense of a background check.

Just remember--complete this and you do not have a criminal record. you can get the records of the arrest, sentence, etc expunged once a certain amt of time passes. but even without that you will not have a conviction on your record.
 
Background checks are not reserved for the so-called elite. There are many positions that do not require a professional license but still require an extensive criminal background check, including a home health aide, school bus driver, bank teller, medical office assistant, and so forth.


In this economy, employers can pick and choose amongst applicants, at least for the jobs that pay and require a college degree. It's easy to be eliminated from consideration for something minimal like your own experience. Many companies now maintain a "drug-free workplace," and may inquire about your past drug use (mine did). If you want the job, you'll have to disclose, but do so carefully and not to incriminate yourself. That's what I did and they still hired me.

You'll want to make certain that there are no surprises during your interview. The best way to find out what your record looks like is to ask a company specializing in performing extensive criminal background checks to complete one for yourself. Choose the best, most complete agency you can find, and not the one for $19.95 that you can do online. That way you'll be completely prepared for whatever comes your way.
 
You wont have a problem with background checks unless they are the kind of super indepth ones that the security, law enforcement, and other high-security kinda fields do....Like if you wanted to be a Dr or a Nurse they might go that deep into your records....Or w/ever...But to work at most any regular ass kinda job, no you wont have a problem.

The reason for that is that when you complete a diversion program like you did, or are about to do, you do not get a conviction. the program is designed to help you avoid havin a criminal record, so you wont get a conviction on your record.

The huge majority of jobs only do BG checks for CONVICTIONS, not charges, arrests, or w/ever.

for example i been arrested 3 times, the first time i completed a diversion program like you, and when i get BG checks, the only thing that shows up is my 2 later convictions. it dont show up as a conviction when u do a D.P. You will be fine unless you want to join the FBI or somethin equally as intense of a background check.

IDK about jerz, lace, but here in TX, at least 50% of all joe blow jobs, these days anyway do complete background checks showing all arrests and dispositions... It's public records, it all shows up.

I'm currently trying to get my marijuana case expunged myself, which is what the OP should do also :) Costs out the ass though hiring an attorney :(. Worth it though. I've been turned down by so many jobs, and I wasn't even convicted!!!
 
IDK about jerz, lace, but here in TX, at least 50% of all joe blow jobs, these days anyway do complete background checks showing all arrests and dispositions... It's public records, it all shows up.

I'm currently trying to get my marijuana case expunged myself, which is what the OP should do also :) Costs out the ass though hiring an attorney :(. Worth it though. I've been turned down by so many jobs, and I wasn't even convicted!!!


Getting an attorney involved in your expungement is $$, but when you think about lost income, it really is worth it. It's mostly paperwork, but sometimes you have to appear.

WRT New Jersey, I lived and worked there at the time I was arrested, and I don't think of them as lenient. Granted, my profession requires a license, but the licensure board was on it in five days after my arrest, and I had to stop working. This was before I even entered a plea.
 
Would you prefer to be straight up with the employer if their application asked if I used any illegal drugs in the past 30 days? Or wing it and say no, and hopefully you can detox in time of the drug test.
 
Etarded--in jerz they do BG checks for lots of "joe blow" jobs but definately not deep type of checks. Like i mentioned, I have had a couple BG checks on me ran for job applications, nothing but my convictions has ever showed up on them. They sent me a copy of the BG report with the "We are sorry but we have no positions available" letter, so i got to see exactly wat it said.

IDK about you Missy but i consider a job like home health aide, etc elite. Anything you need a license for, anything in the medical field, the type of job that they do those in depth checks for, I do consider it elite, its just a difference of opinion. were on the same page its just that you consider the jobs that they do those type checks for to be 'average' kind of jobs, to me those are much more beyond the type of jobs that me or most people I know would ever be applying for.

I even applied for the US Census, turned down on the BG check of course but that was a Govt' job and they didnt come up with my CD on the check.

So, Im just sayn. You want to work at Kohls, walmart, walgreens, lowe's, the mall, the grocery store,quick chek, etc...these type jobs...they aint doin nothing in depth. Until you go into the realm of "professional" jobs at least here you dont have to worry about that. Its just my experience, obviously it aint the same everywhere you go but i am only talkin from the experiences I have had with BG checks, job applications, and the offenses that did and didnt show up on my BG checks.
 
Etarded--in jerz they do BG checks for lots of "joe blow" jobs but definately not deep type of checks. Like i mentioned, I have had a couple BG checks on me ran for job applications, nothing but my convictions has ever showed up on them. They sent me a copy of the BG report with the "We are sorry but we have no positions available" letter, so i got to see exactly wat it said.

IDK about you Missy but i consider a job like home health aide, etc elite. Anything you need a license for, anything in the medical field, the type of job that they do those in depth checks for, I do consider it elite, its just a difference of opinion. were on the same page its just that you consider the jobs that they do those type checks for to be 'average' kind of jobs, to me those are much more beyond the type of jobs that me or most people I know would ever be applying for.

I even applied for the US Census, turned down on the BG check of course but that was a Govt' job and they didnt come up with my CD on the check.

So, Im just sayn. You want to work at Kohls, walmart, walgreens, lowe's, the mall, the grocery store,quick chek, etc...these type jobs...they aint doin nothing in depth. Until you go into the realm of "professional" jobs at least here you dont have to worry about that. Its just my experience, obviously it aint the same everywhere you go but i am only talkin from the experiences I have had with BG checks, job applications, and the offenses that did and didnt show up on my BG checks.

I noticed at least from my experiences here, more shit like walgreens, walmart, whatever have started doing more comprehensive background checks. It may have to do with the 10-20% unemployment since the recession though. Lots of applicants, they need more ways to weed them out I guess :\ I tried to work at a taco bell and they denied me because of a pending marijuana case that later got dismissed.

Oh yeah, and if you get stopped by the police, they will probably want to search you for drugs if they run your record. When they run you, it will show up that you were arrested for marijuana to the police, until you get it expunged from the national, state, and local crime databases...
 
^^^You don't need a license to be a home health aide. I think that you tend to generalize from your own experiences too much.
 
In some states, part of the benefit of getting a case EXPUNGED is that you are ethically and legally allowed to answer the question:

"Have you ever been arrested?"

As if THAT EXPUNGED VIOLATION NEVER EVER HAPPENED.

Pretty fucking valuable tool, especially if you've fucked up exactly ONE time.

Call a criminal lawyer in your jurisdiction if you have any questions.

This is important potentially life-changing stuff.
 
In some states, part of the benefit of getting a case EXPUNGED is that you are ethically and legally allowed to answer the question:

"Have you ever been arrested?"

As if THAT EXPUNGED VIOLATION NEVER EVER HAPPENED.

Pretty fucking valuable tool, especially if you've fucked up exactly ONE time.

Call a criminal lawyer in your jurisdiction if you have any questions.

This is important potentially life-changing stuff.

Absolutely. It's worth every penny.
 
does anybody know if i can get my POM expunged even if i was convicted and served time in jail? i live in TX
 
does anybody know if i can get my POM expunged even if i was convicted and served time in jail? i live in TX

^You need some kind of extenuating circumstances i.e. a university writes the court a letter saying you cannot become a doctor only because you were arrested for that charge, or something similar. My lawyer talked to me about this, also in TX, for the same charge. You have to get it dismissed, unless it was a class C misdemeanor, and not the class B charge. :\
 
it was class B unfortunately. i was going to start a pre-pharmacy program in college this past fall but now with this drug charge i cant be a pharmacist. one of my life dreams shot down by the goverment just because i possessed a gram of marijuana. its a shame
 
it was a class B unfortunately. the POM is an issue cause i had just accepted into a pre-pharmacy program at a local college.you cant be a pharmacist in any state if you have any drug charge. one of my life dreams shot down by the government for a measly one gram of weed:(
 
does anybody know if i can get my POM expunged even if i was convicted and served time in jail? i live in TX

I believe that in Texas only arrests/charges that did not result in a conviction can be expunged from your record, so my guess is no, but you should speak with attorney who handled your case.
 
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