teenager asking for a small background check/advice

[Tockwork]

Howdy guys, I'm a 16 year old teen from North Carolina. I would like to ask a few favors if you guys aren't busy. Could you give me a brief background check and some advice?

I really want to get into law enforcement and have been told by many friends that because of my age I really should just "chill out" and not to worry about it since of my age. I've also spoke with my brother-in-law (who is a local police officer) and he told me that he used to smoke pot a lot when he was younger but gave it up when he was 18, and he got hired just fine.

Anyway, here is my background:

Smoked Weed

Had a little cigarette thing (about a pack of Marlboro lights every 2 weeks) for about a month and a half

when I was 12 - 13 years old I had slight depression and went to an "anchor school" (which is basically a alt school for people who had problems and refused to go to the normal school) for about 3/4 of a school year

got drunk about twice


I just realized recently that I wanted to do Law Enforcement and haven't smoked weed since. I am a strong believer of habits that you'll have when in high school and am wondering if I should just chill out and enjoy myself but watch what I touch (nothing other than pot and never touch Acid/Shrooms/Heroine/etc).

What are your opinions? Should I just enjoy myself and quit when I am 18 or what?

Thanks for future help.

[Sierra]

Provided you stay within the law, there is no issue with you enjoying yourself at any age. There is no magic eraser that can wipe what you did as a juvenile. Do something stupid enough and it will haunt you the rest of your life.

Cig usage is not an issue, nor is the alt school from age 13 provided you got your butt back on track. Afew minor events of drinking can be looked at as part of growing up.

You did, however, gloss over your marijuana use. After a certain amount of useage it is no longer considered experimental use and can DQ you fromm many departments. Rules will vary by state; check your state's POST (or equivalent) rules for specifics.

[Piggy]

It's never too early to start planning your future. You don't have any immediate disqualifiers, just a few bumps in the road. Just stay off the wacky weed and stay out of trouble and you should be okay. Be careful who you hang out with too. Good luck.

[Tockwork]

I haven't used a lot of Marijuana, I just experimented with it. I haven't really smoked more than 5 - 6 times. But I gotta thank you. I'm going to probably quit/have one last ceremonial smoke and just leave it at that.

Thanks for the help! Please keep giving advice too if anyone has anything else to add.

[SnapShawt]

One last ceremonial smoke? So you know now that you want to go into law enforcement, but breaking the law one last time for nostalgia's sake is fine and dandy?

[jlink38]

I haven't used a lot of Marijuana, I just experimented with it. I haven't really smoked more than 5 - 6 times. But I gotta thank you. I'm going to probably quit/have one last ceremonial smoke and just leave it at that.

Thanks for the help! Please keep giving advice too if anyone has anything else to add.

Why? Just set your mind to it and stick to your goals. The earlier you stop the better. What is so ceremonious about smoking weed anyway?

[Tockwork]

Well, it's kind of how I stopped the small habit of smoking. I just smoked one last one and flushed the rest down the toilet. Haven't smoke 1 cigarette since.

But yeah, I agree with you. If I smoke another one it won't be counted as Experimenting. I've smoked enough times to get the testing of marijuana and it's out-of-space effects. I shall do my best to smoke no more.

[oncall]

Don't take a chance on getting busted with your buddies smoking that stuff and possibly ruining your future career in le. Quit it now, not in another 2 years. Keep in mind as you want your background as clean as possible.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

Can't speak for North Carolina, but most agencies around here have a 21 minimum age, and for good reason.

To the OP, you should treat every decision you make from now on like it is the deciding factor on them hiring you as a police officer.

[SnapShawt]

Tock, I don't really want to be a ***hole to you, but some of your wording is just not conducive to what you're wanting to do. First you say you'll have "one last ceremonial smoke". Then you say okay not that, and you "shall do your best" to not smoke it anymore. How you quit smoking legal tobacco is irrelevant - it's LEGAL. The other, obviously, is not.

So, you're going to "do your best" not to smoke pot again. That implies that you just might smoke it again, or that there is something that makes you think you may not ABSOLUTELY be able to stay away from it. It's like saying you'll do your best not to drink and drive again. What? Hello, it's easy - JUST DON'T DO IT.

So now I'm thinking (may be wrong, who knows) that you haven't been really forthright about how much you've smoked. That type of wording comes from a person who has developed a HABIT of doing something, not simply experimented with it.

[Wolfman]

Should I just enjoy myself and quit when I am 18 or what?

At no point will any member in good standing of this board tell you that you should "enjoy yourself" when it comes to illegal things like doing drugs, drinking under age, etc. If you truly want a career in law enforcement, then you need to cut that crap out now.

If your brother is in law enforcement and he's telling you to "enjoy yourself" in the way you are implying then that gives me serious doubt to your brother's credibility.

[seeking]

It never ceases to amaze me when people ask how something in their past is going to affect them and then imply they're going to continue to do it. People who have smoked pot, drank underage, etc. and want to know if it will affect them are one thing--they did those things prior to considering the career and now have to deal with the consequences (which may, depending on frequency of the occurrence, etc. DQ them from their dream). Just goes to show of course that how you conduct yourself today carries on to tomorrow.

We've all made mistakes. I've often heard it said on here that "we're not looking for angels; we're looking for people who can be honest about their mistakes." We've all got *something* in our background that's going to give us concern, that could hold us back. The issue isn't always what you did but how you have handled yourself since having done that and how likely you are to repeat the behavior in the future.

The problem I see from your post is that, unlike some people, you know you want to get into law enforcement. And what you're doing is not owning up to your mistakes and saying it won't happen from here on out; what you're doing is making noncommittal statements about "trying your best" not to do something you already know is both foolish and illegal. You're trying to see how much you can get away with and still get hired, and that's the aspect that doesn't behoove you. Is that then how you'll conduct yourself on the job? Will you push the boundaries and try to get away with as much as possible without getting fired?

Consider the fact that some departments are more lenient than others regarding drug use. Some won't allow pot smoking within a year of employment, others say five years or more, and all seem to generally agree anything more than a handful of times is habitual rather than experimental and grounds for DQ (which by the way, consider that you're 16 now. Even if you quit today you couldn't be hired til you're 19 in my local SO, which means you can kiss it goodbye til you're at least 21 if you wait til you're 18 to quit). Even in those departments which are more lax, they have an additional qualification that anyone who has smoked pot, etc. after having been hired by a law enforcement agency, regardless of how long it's been since the last incident, are auto DQ.

While you haven't gotten hired by an agency and continued the illegal practices, I can't imagine you'll be looked at much more favorably since, like the hired officer, you've decided you want to uphold the law and are breaking it (on what sounds like a regular basis). Let the mistakes you've made in the past be the mistakes you made in the past and learn from them. But from here on out, if you really want to take the responsibility of a job in law enforcement, then you need to take the responsibility to stop the things you're doing which do not fall in line with the character you're going to need to have to have a career in law enforcement. If you can't/won't do that, then, perhaps your heart isn't as in this as you think it is and you'll want to look into other career paths.

[Tockwork]

It never ceases to amaze me when people ask how something in their past is going to affect them and then imply they're going to continue to do it. People who have smoked pot, drank underage, etc. and want to know if it will affect them are one thing--they did those things prior to considering the career and now have to deal with the consequences (which may, depending on frequency of the occurrence, etc. DQ them from their dream). Just goes to show of course that how you conduct yourself today carries on to tomorrow.

We've all made mistakes. I've often heard it said on here that "we're not looking for angels; we're looking for people who can be honest about their mistakes." We've all got *something* in our background that's going to give us concern, that could hold us back. The issue isn't always what you did but how you have handled yourself since having done that and how likely you are to repeat the behavior in the future.

The problem I see from your post is that, unlike some people, you know you want to get into law enforcement. And what you're doing is not owning up to your mistakes and saying it won't happen from here on out; what you're doing is making noncommittal statements about "trying your best" not to do something you already know is both foolish and illegal. You're trying to see how much you can get away with and still get hired, and that's the aspect that doesn't behoove you. Is that then how you'll conduct yourself on the job? Will you push the boundaries and try to get away with as much as possible without getting fired?

Consider the fact that some departments are more lenient than others regarding drug use. Some won't allow pot smoking within a year of employment, others say five years or more, and all seem to generally agree anything more than a handful of times is habitual rather than experimental and grounds for DQ (which by the way, consider that you're 16 now. Even if you quit today you couldn't be hired til you're 19 in my local SO, which means you can kiss it goodbye til you're at least 21 if you wait til you're 18 to quit). Even in those departments which are more lax, they have an additional qualification that anyone who has smoked pot, etc. after having been hired by a law enforcement agency, regardless of how long it's been since the last incident, are auto DQ.

While you haven't gotten hired by an agency and continued the illegal practices, I can't imagine you'll be looked at much more favorably since, like the hired officer, you've decided you want to uphold the law and are breaking it (on what sounds like a regular basis). Let the mistakes you've made in the past be the mistakes you made in the past and learn from them. But from here on out, if you really want to take the responsibility of a job in law enforcement, then you need to take the responsibility to stop the things you're doing which do not fall in line with the character you're going to need to have to have a career in law enforcement. If you can't/won't do that, then, perhaps your heart isn't as in this as you think it is and you'll want to look into other career paths.

Thanks for the input. Well, you're right. But what I meant with "Do my best to not do it" I kind of meant, "I will do everything in my power to NOT do it."

[BOY-IN-BLUE]

Also, you're never to young to start considering your future career. I knew I wanted to be in the Military since I was 8 but found out I was DQ'd at age 12 due to the type of asthma I have, so I switched my ambitions to Law Enforcement. Also, I put myself in situations that prepared me for what I want to do. For instance, I'm in the US Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol). I'm in Marine Corps JROTC. And for Law Enforcement I joined my local Law Enforcement Post earlier this year.


Oh and also, that one last ceremonial smoke of weed you wanna try? Make sure you pay real close attention to what I'm about to say: IT'S ILLIGAL.........

DONT DO IT.........

[Tockwork]

Also, you're never to young to start considering your future career. I knew I wanted to be in the Military since I was 8 but found out I was DQ'd at age 12 due to the type of asthma I have, so I switched my ambitions to Law Enforcement. Also, I put myself in situations that prepared me for what I want to do. For instance, I'm in the US Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol). I'm in Marine Corps JROTC. And for Law Enforcement I joined my local Law Enforcement Post earlier this year.


Oh and also, that one last ceremonial smoke of weed you wanna try? Make sure you pay real close attention to what I'm about to say: IT'S ILLIGAL.........

DONT DO IT.........

All right, thanks for more advice.

But I've already said I do not plan to do it anymore. Thanks for the concern though!

I hope I can talk to you guys in 4 years as one of you. (Local age requirement is 20) They also have the BLET (basic law enforcement training) college class, and I plan to take it when I am 19 (as long as I graduate when I am 20)