Becoming an LEO

[JustShoot]

I am interested in becoming a LEO after just finishing college. I was wondering if my past drug use would disqualify me from employment as an LEO. I did a little coke and smoked pot while in college but dont do anything anymore. Also, I have never been arrested for anything, have a clean record, and everyone I have evern known would say good stuff about me if someone asked. So, in short, the polygraph test worries me.

[Samuelx]

Depends on the hiring requirements of the particular agency(ies) you apply with... Cocaine use is usually a DQ'er...

[1*mike]

become a probation officer. Im guessing most PD's will drop you.

[BigDogatPlay]

I've had friends who were DQ'ed for past cocaine use and I know it was a DQ at one agency I worked at.

[SixPointEight]

I was thinking the same thing. never messed with cocaine, but I did smoke a little pot in high-school. Also, I knew some friends that were doing illegal things and didn't report them...kinda makes me an accessory to those. Then there was the high-school shenanigans like egging/tp'ing friends and such.

Is that the kind of things they ask you about? I'd never did bother to apply for that reason. Well..and also because all the budget cuts.

[Foriegn power]

Mary jane is okay, but coke that is considered 'hard' drugs.

[WILDMAN442]

I say get with a recruiter for a PD who is looking and be honest with him.

tell him the truth and ask him what he thinks. Coke is a DQ'er for most agencies but it never hurts to ask.

But absolutely be HONEST. Dont hide anything from them because they will find out eventually.

In my opinion, dont give up man. Try and try until you find someone who will accept you

Good Luck

Justin

[C.W.M.V.]

Dude with the way things are right now you might want to get into something else for a while. I'm as pure as the driven snow and a veteran and I can't get in anywhere. There aren't even any cso positions anymore at least in the central valley.

[bodyarmorguy27]

Like others said, cocaine is typically a DQ'er. When I applied to CHP in 97, I think if it was within the past 10 years, it was a DQ'er.

I always tell young adults that the decisions they make in their teens or early 20s will affect them for the rest of their lives. Especially, if you are vying for a LE job or .mil or .gov security clearance.

Good luck.

[LA Copper]

Yep. Coke is a DQ. And if you lie about it and they find out, that's a DQ. The only way you'd get on is if you lied about it and they didn't find out (not that I'm suggesting that in any way.) Unfortunately for you, the background investigators are very good, so the chances of them finding out are pretty damn high.

[alex00]

12 years ago when I hired on with my agency, any felony drug use as an adult was a DQ. Any addiction, even to Marijuana as an adult or juvenile was also a DQ. They allowed for experimentation with some felony drugs as a juvenile, except LSD was a lifetime ban. Just remember, if you falsify something in your background and get hired, you run the risk of losing your job later if you are ever found out. It's better to find an agency that will take you with all your skeletons, rather than hiding a few skeletons from another agency.