questions about becoming a police officer

[despy]

Hello there, i have recently decided a law enforcement job is my career of choice, i have been thinking for a while of what to pursue for my career, and when i thought of being a police officer, it came to me that it was definitely the right decision, however i have a few questions about the hiring process that have me worried. First of all i have a clean adult record, however when i was a juvenile i was charged with disturbing the peace, and when i was 18-19 (I am 20 years old now) i regularly smoked marijuana because it seemed like the only thing that could relieve my stress, however i realized it was the wrong decision, and the only other drug i tried was psilocybin mushrooms once, but i freaked out and after that i firmly decided to never touch another drug again and to do something with my life. I live in Utah and many of the departments have the 2-5 rule (2 years without marijuana, 5 years without more serious substances) and i am just mainly worried about my mistakes i made as a juvenile and some as an adult would disqualify me from a law enforcement job. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[Citicop]

The only way to know for sure is to try, but the job market is REALLY tough right now.

Often, it's not enough to just meet the minimum requirements. You have to be the BEST qualified person for the job out of all the applicants, and a lot of your competition will have no illegal drug use at all in their backgrounds.

Be prepared for an uphill battle.

-Citicop.

[despy]

Thank you for your reply, I realize it is going to be quite tough, but I will try my hardest and hopefully come through successfully.

[retdetsgt]

With a lot of departments (all I know of) hallucinogens are an automatic DQ, even one use. So is regular use of marijuana too, but someone might give you some slack on that after 5 or 6 years abstinence.

[mcsap]

Besides your desire , what makes you a BETTER candidate than say someone with a degree or a military veteran ? ( who didn't use drugs).

[marinepilot]

With a lot of departments (all I know of) hallucinogens are an automatic DQ, even one use. So is regular use of marijuana too, but someone might give you some slack on that after 5 or 6 years abstinence.

Same here, all the local agencies around here hallucinogenics are an auto disqualifier.

[despy]

Besides your desire , what makes you a BETTER candidate than say someone with a degree or a military veteran ? ( who didn't use drugs).

I feel like i have a lot to offer for a police job, i used to be in a delinquent state of mind, so i know what to look for (I know you probably hear that a lot) and also it just seems like the only job i can go for, I am not interested in a career where I do the same thing everyday. I love the fact that as a police officer its something different each time on patrol. A lot of people have also told me I am good at convincing people and getting them to tell me the truth, and reading body language, however I am not sure if that will really help me. I am also planning to get a degree in Psychology.

Also for most departments I have looked into in my state, the only automatic DQ that is drug-related is LSD, which I never touched.

[retdetsgt]

I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket though and I wouldn't plan on applying until you've put a number of years ahead of the "regular" use of marijuana. It's not like you didn't know it was illegal and as has been stated, the market is competitive and there are a lot of people out there who are military veterans who were never regular users of anything illegal. It sounds like you just quit, so it will take at least 5 or 6 years of good, clean living before the vast majority of departments are going to give you the time of day.

We all want to be judged on our intentions, but unfortunately we are judged on our actions.

[despy]

I do not plan on applying for at least 5 years, I want to get earn a degree first, as well as mature more and put the drug use further behind me.