# My dilemma...



## blukaman (Jan 13, 2011)

So here's the problem. At 18 I got arrested for a DWAI related to marijuana. I got four charges: Possession of paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, driving while ability impaired, and driving a defective vehicle. 

This was almost 4 years ago now. I've changed a lot since then (mainly the being a pothead part). I'm passionate about the EMS profession, and i'm worried that I wont get hired anywhere because of my foolish teen-lifestyle. 

I've gotten through my EMT course, my NREMT exam, and I've even gotten into a local dive rescue team. I'm applying for my state cert but they want a copy of any court documentation if I've plead guilty of any misdemeanor. My problem is that it's going to look horrible on paper.

Does anyone have any advice for me? How do I land a decent job in the EMS field? 

This is extremely important to me. Please help if you can..


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## djm0219 (Jan 13, 2011)

Above all be completely honest and be prepared to show what you have done to change things since it happened. Something as simple as, boy did I mess up when I was younger but I learned my lesson and did x, y and z to make sure it won't happen again should go a long way.  Good luck!


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## colorado207 (Jun 12, 2011)

:sad:
have the same issue. dwai 10 yrs ago in CO for THC. I'd like to see if I could get it expunged; the charge wasn't valid at the time much less now. If it comes up during the hiring process, I'll have a hard time saying that I have any regrets or admitting to "thoughtless indiscretions of youth." Ridiculous. I seriously doubt it should impact my employment since it is so old, and since I've been a professional driver for 3 years, UAs and DOT stuff included. Nothing on DMV rec.
idk. Just irritates me.


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## TransportJockey (Jun 12, 2011)

just curious what you mean wasn't valid?


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## HotelCo (Jun 12, 2011)

blukaman said:


> So here's the problem. At 18 I got arrested for a DWAI related to marijuana. I got four charges: Possession of paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, driving while ability impaired, and driving a defective vehicle.
> 
> This was almost 4 years ago now. I've changed a lot since then (mainly the being a pothead part). I'm passionate about the EMS profession, and i'm worried that I wont get hired anywhere because of my foolish teen-lifestyle.
> 
> ...



You're talking about your actual license. You don't have a choice whether or not to provide the documentation. The best you can do is send it to them, and maybe throw a letter in the envelope telling them why they should overlook your past screw ups, and give you the license..


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## Flight-LP (Jun 12, 2011)

Please see the responses from a similar recent thread.............

http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=24180

you are going to have an uphill battle, especially if you're a Basic in an oversaturated market.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 12, 2011)

> especially if you're a Basic in an oversaturated market.


Even if he/she were to become a paramedic, it's going to be a tough road to reach the desired destination.

Personally, and it's just the former supervisor in me perhaps, but I'm going to be very hesitant to put a person with a drug related past into a position where they could conceivably have access to narcotics and other potential drugs of abuse.  Then again, I've had the DEA and FBI crawl all over the service I worked at because one of our medics was stealing narcotics, so maybe I'm once bitten twice shy.

It's one of the reasons why I chose to keep my nose clean.  It's a shame that others don't always have the basic level of sense.


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## dstevens58 (Jun 12, 2011)

Just my two cents worth...

From a 20 year commitment to law enforcement  (since retired), I have been put through several polygraph tests.  I find that honesty is the best policy.  When I took my first polygraph, I had to admit that I had used marijuana (hey it was in the 70's then), but then told them that I had not touched anything for over 12 years and could prove to them (via testing) that I was clean if they wanted to test me.  I passed that initial polygraph with flying colors and went on to enjoy 20 years working with the same agency.

Even if you get the offense expunged from your record, most questions on employment applications as if you have ever been "arrested".  No matter if has been expunged from your record, the are records of the arrest.  Because it may be expunged, it may assist you in concealing it from a criminal record check, but all it would take is something to come up, someone to mention it to you employer.

Now, you may be a completely changed individual, doing positive things for your life instead of living the "wild a crazy" life of your youth......now you're more in trouble for concealing the truth.......comes down to an integrity issue.

Just comes down to who I would want to work for me.  Someone who has made a mistake and done everything he can to correct it and living a clean life since would make a whole better employee [for me] than someone who is not honest.

Yes, it may mean it will be more challenging to find someone who will employee you......however, I would employ someone I can trust.

Sorry.....I will get off my soapbox now.


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## firetender (Jun 12, 2011)

*Some things do not change*

and a few of them are...



> (firetender has certain pet soapboxes)
> 
> persistence pays
> 
> ...


 
You (Universal) screwed the pooch. What an Idjit! Now you realize you're going to have to spend the rest of your life explaining to people with POWER over your future how your irresponsible past is NOT an indication of WHO you will be in their service!

Their job is to make it harder for you than anyone else to get through their doorways. First thing they do is pummel you with paperwork. Do you understand the game that's happening? They're betting that you really won't make the effort to comply, let alone push them to just LOOK AT YOU. After all, you're a Dope Fiend!

So DON'T be a Dope Fiend, first and foremost. 

If you're going to present yourself as having gone through your childish ways then BE THAT. Don't do A PRE-TEST FLUSH to get by. That one has nothing to do with them. It has to do with you being able to live within your own skin. Some people call it integrity.
.
Second, do whatever you have to do to make sure your face gets to see their faces. Become visible. Become real to them. Dope Fiends hide in darkness and behind paperwork; when you face them, they crumble.

*This, too, is about persistence. I'm trusting you REALLY want to be a medic. Now I'm challenging you to make that happen regardless of the Idjit you once were.*

The paperwork you present (just like Forum diatribes like this!) is easily misinterpreted. But you making the (sometimes maximum) effort to be seen really DOES make a difference. I know of what I speak.

When I was 22 I spent a year of my life in the NYC Correctional System for Felony conviction of "attempted sale of a dangerous drug in the 4th degree." It was pot, but of course you had to look deep into the record to find it, and, really, who would bother? To make things worse, at the time (1970's) Draconian laws were coming into NY and in order to avoid doing 8 - 15 years, I had to get into a Drug Rehabilitation Program, of whom 90% were heroin addicts!

Do you have any idea how BAD that looks on a resume? Especially when asking to be part of a brand new program where kids are acting like Doctors.

I never once denied or hid my conviction.  Through hard experience which largely amounted to re-defending myself at every new juncture of my EMS career (from Vollie in NYC, to being hired as EMT in FL, to being accepted in paramedic school, to transferring certs over to California for starters) I found that if I was who I said I was and helped them to see it, I could get in to whatever I wanted to; the only barriers were those I created.

The cost is you're going to have to really WANT what you're going for. The degree to which you're NOT committed to being the person you want to be in the field of your choice will determine how easy it is for THEM to slam the door in your face.

When that happens, as it will, you don't start slamming your fists into the door screaming, "Let me in, I BELONG here!!!"  You step back and look for another door opening nearby.

But that's a whole different subject.


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## colorado207 (Jun 15, 2011)

TransportJockey said:


> just curious what you mean wasn't valid?



because, THC shows up in tests far longer than any impairment lasts. Never mind that i wasn't high,  passed all the roadsides and was pulled over for 'touching the center line.' Now i have to deal with this crap years and years later, because I mouthed off to some rookie cop. I would have fought it in court, but it happened in 150 miles from home, and I didnt have the means nor the time to travel 150 miles every other day to deal with it in court. 
So anyways, yeah, recently we passed a law in CO that gives a minimum amount of THC to be legally intoxicated while driving.(probably for the sake of medical users)<_<  Too late for me though.

And to this day, I'm still not sure if my test was actually positive or not. When I asked the 'ada' if it had come up hot or not, she was quiet for a few seconds and said 'yes', and seemed nervous. And I could barely hear what she was saying, because there were a good 50 people copping pleas over card tables w/ four other 'ada's, glorified paralegals, probably just back from 2 martini lunches.


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## colorado207 (Jun 15, 2011)

usafmedic45 said:


> Even if he/she were to become a paramedic, it's going to be a tough road to reach the desired destination.
> 
> Personally, and it's just the former supervisor in me perhaps, but I'm going to be very hesitant to put a person with a drug related past into a position where they could conceivably have access to narcotics and other potential drugs of abuse.  .  It's a shame that others don't always have the basic level of sense.



Yeah.. funny though, never ceases to amaze me, why anyone would need 'narcotics', when you can go to any corner store and pick up cheap EtOH, Not only will no one think less of you for using such a *blunt chemical instrument*, you'll probably end up being even more popular, 'specially with the ladies! And, sure EtOH is very close in effects to heroin and Rx pain meds... but hey that doesn't matter... 'cause it's socially acceptable. Yay lets all do some brain damage after work!
SO yeah, not feeling too guilty about smoking pot in my teens.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 16, 2011)

> because, THC shows up in tests far longer than any impairment lasts.



You do realize that they can tell the difference between a joint smoked 20 minutes ago versus one smoked four days ago based on the metabolites present and the ratios thereof?



> Yeah.. funny though, never ceases to amaze me, why anyone would need 'narcotics', when you can go to any corner store and pick up cheap EtOH, Not only will no one think less of you for using such a blunt chemical instrument, you'll probably end up being even more popular, 'specially with the ladies! And, sure EtOH is very close in effects to heroin and Rx pain meds... but hey that doesn't matter... 'cause it's socially acceptable. Yay lets all do some brain damage after work!
> SO yeah, not feeling too guilty about smoking pot in my teens.



I don't agree with drinking to abuse and honestly have no problem with people smoking pot while off duty.  However, laws exist against it and until someone gets them changed, we have to choose to abide by them or face the consequences.


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## 8jimi8 (Jun 16, 2011)

I have heard of a story from my emt-b instructor, about a man who went to prison for murder in texas, then was later licensed as a paramedic and hired by a fire department.

All things are possible with enough effort and determination.


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## colorado207 (Jun 17, 2011)

usafmedic45 said:


> You do realize that they can tell the difference between a joint smoked 20 minutes ago versus one smoked four days ago based on the metabolites present and the ratios thereof?
> 
> 
> 
> I don't agree with drinking to abuse and honestly have no problem with people smoking pot while off duty.  However, laws exist against it and until someone gets them changed, we have to choose to abide by them or face the consequences.


 
True. True. Pot isn't so important to me that I'd endanger my job over it...I keep some around for occasional migraines and such...I wouldn't have any trouble never touching the stuff again. I understand drug testing for medical personnel... it makes sense. It really does.
But, I'm gonna have a really tough time apologizing for pot use 10 years prior in a job interview setting! I dunno. 

And, I'm sure they could tell how long it's been since intake! But like I said, up until recent legislation in CO set solid limits, any THC in your system could mean impaired driving!


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