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People with minor drug convictions lose in a lot of other ways:
Student loans: The Higher Education Act makes students convicted of any drug offense -- even possession of one marijuana joint -- ineligible for federal financial aid, grants or work study. It does not apply to other types of offenses, including murder or rape. Since the law went into effect in 2000, hundreds of thousands of students have lost aid.
In 2006, the law was revised to apply only to students convicted while receiving aid. They can also have their benefits restored later.
Housing: Landlords also check criminal records and are justified in denying tenants with a drug conviction. Leases can permit owners to evict a tenant for illegal drug use on the grounds. Some universities give students 48 hours to get out of their dorm after a drug violation.
Federal money: The 1990 Denial of Federal Benefits Program allows judges to deny drug offenders federal grants, contracts and licenses. However, judges only use the provision in two out of a thousand cases, affecting about 600 people a year in federal courts.
The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 makes felony drug offenders subject to a lifetime ban on cash assistance and food stamps. States can opt out, however, and most limit this ban.
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Adoption and foster care: The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 recommends that states bar people with a felony drug conviction from adoption or foster care for five years. A small number of states, however, disqualify anyone with a criminal record.
Voting rights: Felony disenfranchisement laws have eased in recent years. Only two states, Kentucky and Virginia, permanently deny felons the vote. For more details, see this map of state disenfranchisement laws (.pdf file).
Citizenship: A drug offense is considered a crime of moral turpitude, which for noncitizens is grounds for deportation.
The real costs
More than 800,000 marijuana arrests were made in 2006, according to the FBI.Kraig Selken was a junior at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., when he and two housemates were arrested for possessing a combined three-quarters of an ounce. Selken got 60 days in jail with 57 suspended for the misdemeanor and paid $400 in fees and $500 for mandatory drug treatment.
Then he really paid. Over the next 18 months, it cost him about $10,000.
Selken lost his federal student aid and got fired from his job as an account supervisor at a hotel chain, forfeiting the company's tuition-reimbursement and other benefits. He dropped to part time at school, worked two jobs waiting tables and paid the remainder of his tuition with a credit card, for which he is now paying interest.
"After I had gone through the court system and paid my fine, done my time, I had assumed I had done what I needed to do to be an upstanding citizen again," Selken said. "Then I do my research and find out that people who have a drug conviction are ineligible to receive loans, but people who were defrauding the loans are not."
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Why not tax marijuana?According to government statistics, the market value of marijuana produced in the United States exceeds $35 billion annually. The illegal plant is the No. 1 cash crop in 12 states.
Clean the slate
The most obvious way to avoid such a problem is to avoid using drugs, as well as the cars and apartments of those who do. No matter your beliefs, the fact remains that they're against the law.If arrested, hire a lawyer. Work to have the charge reduced or dismissed. Many states will dismiss a first offense with approved treatment. Before accepting a plea, consider the long-term implications of any record.
If you have already have a record:
- Don't lie about it. Not all employers will disqualify you for a drug incident. They will disqualify you, however, if you're dishonest. "I've had so many employers tell me, 'Gosh, if they'd just told me about it I would have hired 'em. Now I can't,'" said Callahan, of Employment Screening Services.
- Learn your rights. Research the laws in your state. Some arrests, or even minor convictions, cannot be considered after a certain period of time.
- Find out if state law provides a remedy for relief. See the guide at The Sentencing Project. There are different rules, including relief from a particular professional sanction.
- Check the Web site of the court where you received the conviction. Some have downloadable expungement packets to get you started. Call the public defender's office or a legal-aid group to find expungement clinics. Also search for "post-conviction relief" or "pardon."
- Make sure that online companies offering instant relief are doing more than simply charging you for forms that you can get at the courthouse.
Updated Sept. 4, 2008
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