Should I even try to be a cop anymore? (drugs)

[ironmike22]

ive been switching back and forth through careers for the past 2-3 years and ALWAYS come back to being a cop.

Unfortunatly, i figured i would do something else and started doing weed in april or so. By June i tried cocaine, and i even tried crack a few times in July. :eek:

i just went back into college and should get myself an associates degree (60 credits, only going part-time while i work full-time) and am just taking liberal arts, by summer 2009.

I decided i wanted to be a cop again and cut out ALL DRUGS when i went back to school. But then i come on here and i read something about trying cocaine ONE TIME gets you automatically DQed from pretty much every dept. in the country.

I aint going to lie, it kind of broke my heart. I started looking at my dads badge (from his wallet) and started thinking about how i never knew how bad i wanted to become a cop until after i did drugs and read what i read about drugs and becoming a cop.

So is this it? Am i done? :confused:

im 19...

[Hockey9019]

Well heres what I would do if I was in your situation


Stay clean for good now

Get a GOOD job where it shows responsibility (Not Micky D's), keep it for more then a couple months (I'm talking 1, 2, 3 4 years etc.)

Do some community service (volunteer)

Stay clean once again

Prove your self

Be honest when you apply for departments

Stay in shape

Keep working...give it 5-8 years or so

You gotta remember some people that are applying for the same job have never even gotten a speeding ticket. Some people don't even know what weed looks like. You gotta prove yourself.

You might not get onto a smaller town department, but bigger towns might look past that and see how you grew up, built off a stupid mistake, and hire you.


The main thing is, prove yourself to the department

Prove yourself to your friends

How bad do you want it?

Just because some departments won't hire you because you did that, doesn't mean your totally S.O.L. You did slide down the hill. Gotta work your way back up. Give it several years though.

Join the military. Thats another option too. Not sure since I'm not too familiar with the military. Just giving my advice what I would do if I was in your shoes

When I said do community service. I don't mean pick up garbage. I mean go volunteer at a school. A senior center. A police department. A after school program

But if you don't stay clean...then thats your fault. It just shows you don't want it THAT bad.


Good luck. I'm sure someone with better advice may come in and speak. I'm just going on my common sense (not saying anything bad) and what I've read here.


EDIT Oh yeah...stay in school...get a good degree...make goals..complete them. First goal....keep your GPA above a 3.5. Like I said prove yourself. How bad you want this?

[Sierra]

ive been switching back and forth through careers for the past 2-3 years and ALWAYS come back to being a cop.

Unfortunatly, i figured i would do something else and started doing weed in april or so. By June i tried cocaine, and i even tried crack a few times in July. :eek:

Bear in mind I don't know what State you are from, so these are Arizona's standards for certification from http://www.azpost.gov/ :

10. Not have illegally used marijuana for any purpose within the past three years;

11. Not have ever illegally used marijuana other than for experimentation;

14. Not have illegally used a dangerous drug or narcotic, other than marijuana, for any purpose within the past seven years;

15. Not have ever illegally used a dangerous drug or narcotic other than for experimentation;


B. The illegal use of marijuana, or a dangerous drug or narcotic is presumed to be not for experimentation if:

1. The use of marijuana exceeds a total of 20 times or exceeds five times since the age of 21 years; or

2. The use of any dangerous drug or narcotic, other than marijuana, in any combination exceeds a total of five times, or exceeds one time since the age of 21 years.

Based on the above, you must wait a minimum of 7 years from July to be a cop in AZ presuming you did not exceed 5 uses of crack/cocaine. If you did, it is possible to obtain a waiver, but I don't know how likely it is.

[mcsap]

If you really WANTED to be a cop you wouldn't have gone out and done all of those drugs.

Enjoy your " drug enriched" life but you have truly gone to the opposite end of the spectrum for someone who even had an inkling of wanting to be a cop.

[Lawson]

People do dumb things. It happens. I don't know if this is going to be a career ender or not for you. As Hockey said, put some years in between the incident and your application time and go out and do some stuff to make yourself into a productive member of society. When it comes time for the background checks, don't lie about it. It cant hurt too much to try.

[sgtbear111]

Do a 4 year hitch in the military - if they pass you on the drug use. Stay clean and try before your hitch is up. If you do dope in the service, say goodbye.....if you do dope any more anytime, kiss your butt goodbye....addicts have a low success rate in life. There's one set of hands that puts that crap in your body, note where they are attached.

[Creeker]

IMHO, the only reason you would stay away from drugs is because you have decided that you want to be a Cop... and I doubt your sincerity.

You choose the Monicker of "IronMike", but yet you would abuse your body for a few minutes of feeling good.

I think your head isn't wrapped right. That is what you need to get straightened out. You need to see somebody about that.

A 7 year stint in the Marines might help.

[Kimble]

To be bluntly honest, I just can't see someone who...

i even tried crack a few times in July. :eek:

ever getting hired in law enforcement. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's the honest truth from what I've seen in a lot of different agency hiring standards. I'm not saying don't better yourself, apply and hope for the best. What I am saying is do come up with a backup plan for a career. Don't make law enforcement the only field that you can feel personal satisfaction doing.

[JakeLock]

Well, I don't speak for every single department in the country, I think I do speak for the majority.

Heroin?!? I'm sure 99.9% of departments will DQ you for that, but that is just my opinion. I do not mean this as a view or opinion into you. Maybe you are a guy trying to right, or maybe your're a punk looking for a fight. I don't know and I won't even try to guess.

I will say, however, your LE chances lok bleak. However, there are many other jobs, state, city, local, that still involve doing the right thing. They tend to be a little less demanding, about drug use I mean.

Don't take this as a defeat, maybe college as an addiction counselor is in your future. You never know, LE may an impossibility but helping people is most definately not.

Don't give up.

[ironmike22]

i didnt stop because I wanted to become a cop. I should have worded it right...i stopped because of the depression and realization on how much money i spent on all that - mainly the depression.

i realized after i stopped and what i went through, again DEPRESSION about why i would do all that, that i didnt want anybody to go through what i went through because of something so stupid and soul-sucking (drugs) and decided a police officer would really be what i want to do - GET ALL THE DRUG DEALERS OFF THE STREET!

i know its impossibe to get EVERY SINGLE DEALER off the street but i would have alot of drive to do my best to get all i could get off, off.

****, i really have no choice but to find another career. I cant beleive i f*cked up this bad. I never knew how bad drugs really were until i did them...its a shame because i have NO DESIRE whatsoever to ever get near any drug ever again - not even marijuana...hell, i dont even want to take tylenol anymore. And being a cop is now pretty much out of the question because of 5-6 months as a kid...:mad:....

[BurnzyJKD]

i didnt stop because I wanted to become a cop. I should have worded it right...i stopped because of the depression and realization on how much money i spent on all that - mainly the depression.

i realized after i stopped and what i went through, again DEPRESSION about why i would do all that, that i didnt want anybody to go through what i went through because of something so stupid and soul-sucking (drugs) and decided a police officer would really be what i want to do - GET ALL THE DRUG DEALERS OFF THE STREET!

i know its impossibe to get EVERY SINGLE DEALER off the street but i would have alot of drive to do my best to get all i could get off, off.

****, i really have no choice but to find another career. I cant beleive i f*cked up this bad. I never knew how bad drugs really were until i did them...its a shame because i have NO DESIRE whatsoever to ever get near any drug ever again - not even marijuana...hell, i dont even want to take tylenol anymore. And being a cop is now pretty much out of the question because of 5-6 months as a kid...:mad:....

glad you got it figured out...depression and drug use looks pretty bad my friend in law enforcement. maybe you could get a job at mickey d's:D

[ironmike22]

glad you got it figured out...depression and drug use looks pretty bad my friend in law enforcement. maybe you could get a job at mickey d's:D

ha..yea :D

its amazing how much things can change in 6 months...wheather its for the good or the bad. :cool:

[1depd]

I agree with some of ht either posters. Your hopes of becoming an officer look very bleak at least for the next several years. Even if you meet the requirements to obtain certification many agencies will not hire you. There are others who have never tried drugs applying.

My advise try to join the military for at least one enlistment, but definitely longer than the minimum requirement of drug free. You have nothing better to do for several years to regain your respectability for LE. Working at Mickey D's isn't going to cut it. You need to get back on the road to respectability.

[webjeep]

Being a cop is probably out unless you get damned lucky, but there are other things that you can do to help if that is truly a desire. There are community corrections, probation officer, and victim/witness positions that are not easy to get, but will give you a chance to make a difference without being a cop. Good luck.

[slivovitz]

IronMike,

While I am strongly opposed to the idea that people cannot live down their pasts, I really have to wonder what drove you to do any hard drugs ever, ESPECIALLY CRACK!!!! Aside from the devient aspect of both aquiring and using rock cocaine... ask yourself what made you think such behavior was ok? and why did you need to do that in the first place... is a good scotch and water not enough for ya?