If you’re in college in Cranford, you stand to lose a lot from a drug conviction. While many people assume that “everybody does drugs in college,” or that shifting views on drugs like marijuana mean that drug charges amount to a slap on the wrist, law enforcement do not see things this way at all.
On top of the fines and possible jail time, drug convictions affect many areas of your life and education for years to come.
If you find yourself facing drug charges, you need to begin building a strong defense as soon as you can. Each day that you wait to fight the charges is another day that your prosecution has to build the case against you.
No matter who you are, you stand to lose many freedoms and opportunities if you receive a drug conviction.
Your future is in great danger
Drug convictions carry much stiffer penalties than other non-violent crimes, and if circumstances don’t go your way, even a relatively small charge could lead to jail time. For instance, if an officer searches you and finds both marijuana and rolling papers, this can give them grounds to charge you with intent to distribute.
Suddenly, your entire future takes a turn. If you serve jail time, your education definitely suffers, as well as your employment and other areas.
Even if you manage to avoid jail time, you still stand to suffer many difficulties in pursuing education, employment, and even housing or transportation.
If your education relies on a scholarship, especially one from a government program, a drug conviction may disqualify you from continuing to receive this scholarship. For many individuals, scholarships are the only way to make an education possible.
If you plan to work your way through school, or anticipate graduating soon, your drug conviction may close doors to employment in the future. Many employers simply skip over job applications with drug convictions on them. If you think, “Well, I’ll simply keep that conviction to myself, no need for them to know about it,” you are sadly misguided. Almost all employers perform professional background checks on potential hires now, so they’ll find out about it one way or another.
Furthermore, finding housing can be a great struggle as well. Many rental companies do not rent apartments or houses to individuals with drug convictions on their records. This greatly shrinks the pool of available housing, and can last for years. You may even face higher rates from some kinds of insurers for a drug conviction.
Clearly, a drug conviction has wide-ranging consequences. If you think that these charges are no big deal, think again.
When you choose to fight the charges, you fight for your own future opportunities and successes.
