Marijuana Misdemeanor

[iamvillainmo]

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Short and sweet because I have been agonizing over this for quite some time:


When I was 18 (2003), I was arrested for possession of ~1 gram of Marijuana. I was not taken to jail but given a court summons. At the hearing, I plead no-contest, and upon paying the court costs the state removed me from early-termination probation. The judge WITHHELD adjudication.

This all took place in under 6 months. I am 25, and have been attending University for almost 2 1/2 years now, that was the first and only time I have ever gotten in trouble with the law and have never really been a drug user-except for that stupid summer.

In Florida, a case may be sealed (which I am in the process of doing) but it cannot expunge it for 10 years after it has been sealed.

I have 3.8 and almost finished with my bac. degree at my University.

How is this going to hinder my goals in the future?

Is Med-School admittance going to be a problem, in the U.S or Abroad?

More importantly, how will this affect my ability to obtain residency or earn my license?

[Aviv Imanuel]

You know, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but that falls under the category of legal advise. I would consult a licensed lawyer on that one, normally a 30 minute consult will run you around 80 bucks or join one of those prepaid legal programs for a small monthly fee (17 bucks give or take) but you should ask the licensed pros on that one due to the potential issues you might encounter. Good luck!

.

Originally Posted by iamvillainmo

Short and sweet because I have been agonizing over this for quite some time:


When I was 18 (2003), I was arrested for possession of ~1 gram of Marijuana. I was not taken to jail but given a court summons. At the hearing, I plead no-contest, and upon paying the court costs the state removed me from early-termination probation. The judge WITHHELD adjudication.

This all took place in under 6 months. I am 25, and have been attending University for almost 2 1/2 years now, that was the first and only time I have ever gotten in trouble with the law and have never really been a drug user-except for that stupid summer.

In Florida, a case may be sealed (which I am in the process of doing) but it cannot expunge it for 10 years after it has been sealed.

I have 3.8 and almost finished with my bac. degree at my University.

How is this going to hinder my goals in the future?

Is Med-School admittance going to be a problem, in the U.S or Abroad?

More importantly, how will this affect my ability to obtain residency or earn my license?

[swimchick]

I recommend you discuss this with a pre-med and/or a legal advisor. The pre-med advisor would be able to assist you with admission issues and the legal advisor can apprise you of any issues you might encounter when it comes time to apply for residency/lisencure.

I wish I could help you more...but this is (obviously) a sticky issue.

[ZIMAgo]

whaaa? premed advisors are full of it. I don't think it will stand in the way of you getting into a US school if your MCATS, and experience match your gpa. If anything it'll make you stand out in a crowd. 100% wont affect your ability to get into a carib school if it comes to that, I dont know anyone here without some kind of record.

[MDisME]

I definitely agree about the pre-med advisor thing. All the ones I ever had were not nice and somewhat discouraging .

[swimchick]

Really?? All the pre-med people I've ever talked to have been fantastic...don't know what I would have done without them.

[Kronos]

I would agree with the prevailing opinion so far: pre-med advisors are not at at qualified for handling your issue. It really is a legal problem, so it should be looked at by a qualified lawyer who can give you proper options. Pre-med advisors are usually barely more qualified than a high school counselor and can't give you an accurate opinion on this.

On the other hand, a cheaper alternative is to do the legwork yourself, and email the AMA and some med schools (under a pseudonym, of course) about your concerns.