Community College student thinking about a pharmacy career

[voxxx]

Hello. I currently am about 1/2 - 2/3 done with my associates of the arts degree at my community college. My current GPA is 3.5. I graduated high school with a 2.9gpa. Also I have never taken the SAT/ACT tests, I just went straight to community college after high school. I am thinking about a career in pharmacy. But I have a few questions.

First of all, I like learning about the different ways various drugs affect the body. Like how certain drugs bind to certain neurotransmitters which is what causes their effects for example. Things like that as an example. But this leads me to my second question.

Would having a history or drug abuse completely bar someone from becoming a pharmacist? When I was younger I experimented with a few illegal drugs but that was a short lived phase (luckily) and I havent done any drugs in several years now besides taking a few Extendryl for a sinus infection or some other similar sinus related illness, and that was almost 4 years ago and I was using it as prescribed. And its not like Extendryl is something that will get you high.

And my 3rd and final question is, what classes do you have to take in general to become a pharmacist and how long does the whole process take? From what ive read you need to take a lot of science and math classes which worries me. I dont mind science, however I hated my chemistry class I took in high school and just barely passed it. I am pretty bad at chemistry, I remember something called stoichiometry and wow that stuff was so hard for me I had no idea how to do it (and still dont). Also, I hate math. Algebra in particular. It is so hard for me for some reason, I dont know how I managed to pass algebra 2 in high school. I dont mind science too bad just chemistry I hated. But I straight up hate math.

Would this pretty much ruin my chances of becoming a pharmacist? Or would it be a bad idea since I am bad at and hate math and chemistry? Also, as far as the drug use goes, no one besides my family knows I have done any illegal drugs. And I made sure that no doctors ever found out I have done drugs, nor have I ever taken a urinalysis in my life except one time when I was like 8 way before my drug phase. So I know that as far as my medical record (and legal record too, I have no criminal record) goes, its probably not on file that I have ever done drugs in my life.

Sorry for the long read, and I appreciate it to anyone who actually read that. Any feedback is appreciated.

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[MilkmanAl]

Since you're in college, this sounds like something the crowd in the Pre-Pharm forums would be better equipped to handle. Moving.

 

[PonderingChoice]

You're going to need to take one semester of Calculus, and a couple years of chemistry to meet the minimum pre-requisites, and you generally need a C or better in all pre-requisites. One of those years will be organic chemistry, which is regarded as tough by most people. As for the wisdom of you pursuing pharmacy, I'll leave that to someone else.

 

[phathead]

You'll have others on here who will argue tooth and nail with me, but if you really want to go to pharmacy school go to a 4 year Uni now.

There are a few regions in the country where doing your pre-reqs at a CC are acceptable, but many schools do not look kindly on doing your sciences based at a CC. I'm not sure where you're from, but I know for a fact the region I live in does not accept any science pre-reqs from a CC, no exceptions.

My guess is that since you didn't take ACT/SAT test, the CC you are currently at probably doesn't have an overly high academic standing.

About the chemistry... pharmacy is chemistry. You don't have to love it, but you can't hate it. You'll be working with chemistry for the next 4+ decades of your life, so you have to learn to work with it. Same goes with math.

As for classes, and this varies from school to school, you will generally need

* 1 year of Gen Chem
* 1 year of Organic Chem
* Math thru Calc I
* 1 year of Physics
* 1 year of Gen Bio
* 1 year of Anatomy and Physiology
* 1 year of English
* Semester of speech
* Semester of Econ

And this is the basics. Some schools require courses like Biochemistry, Microbiology, Genetics, etc. It's best to look at schools in your area to see what precisely it is they require.

 

[nicolemsm]

You'll have others on here who will argue tooth and nail with me, but if you really want to go to pharmacy school go to a 4 year Uni now.

Me

 

[phathead]

Me

Again, it depends on what area you live in. Where I hail from, CCs will accept virtually anyone and their science classes are on the same level as high school science classes.

 

[nicolemsm]

Again, it depends on what area you live in. Where I hail from, CCs will accept virtually anyone and their science classes are on the same level as high school science classes.

If you don't mind sharing, are you from the south, north, east, west, south west? I'm from south west.... and the classes I've taken are not very easy, and actually involve a lot of work to maintain a high grade. However I do understand that some college's courses are very easy and colleges may look at them in this way. I just don't understand why community colleges are put on some lowly pedestal and always looked so down upon though by EVERYONE... If they were so bad, why does the country have over 1,000 community colleges nationwide? There's insane discrimination going on with credits when in reality courses are pretty difficult. The only reason I go to community college is because I can afford it this way. I'm not going to blow away insane amounts of money to go to ASU for my pre-reqs if I can go to school for free and get the same level of education with one on one attention.

 

[phathead]

If you don't mind sharing, are you from the south, north, east, west, south west? I'm from south west.... and the classes I've taken are not very easy, and actually involve a lot of work to maintain a high grade. However I do understand that some college's courses are very easy and colleges may look at them in this way. I just don't understand why community colleges are put on some lowly pedestal and always looked so down upon though by EVERYONE... If they were so bad, why does the country have over 1,000 community colleges nationwide? There's insane discrimination going on with credits when in reality courses are pretty difficult. The only reason I go to community college is because I can afford it this way. I'm not going to blow away insane amounts of money to go to ASU for my pre-reqs if I can go to school for free and get the same level of education with one on one attention.

I'm not saying CCs are terrible places to earn an education. What I'm saying is I know that the level of education you receive in general sciences at many CCs is not of the same caliber as a 4 year uni. That is because a lot of CCs train students for basic medical professions, not for something as in depth as a MD or PharmD. I can show you some of the worksheets one of the guys I tutored last semester had in Gen Chem I.

To say that there are 1,000 CCs and thus they must be good schools is a gross misunderstanding of the fact. I can tell you for a fact that the eight schools I applied to (with 4 of them being major unis) did not accept CC credits for any reason.

Again, just because CCs are strong in your particular area, does not mean that is the same everywhere. The good CCs appear to be located in Texas, Cali and the Southwest. That doesn't mean its the same everywhere.

 

[phathead]

One last thing,

I don't want to come across as someone who is against going to CC. What I have found on this forum is that the people who live in regions with strong CCs tend to tell everyone that taking classes there is acceptable.

It is completely a regional thing on whether or not it is acceptable. Where I hail from, CCs are for the people who did not have the grades/ACT-SAT and/or drive to make it in a 4 year uni.

I would hate to see someone follow incorrect advice.

 

[Duc888]

I have a BS from a top 4 yr engineering school and have recently taken almost all of my pharmd pre-reqs at a northeastern CC. Some of the classes are taught at an equal level to those at my 4-yr school and there is more interaction with the professors instead of graduate TA's. Some of the professors are impressive, and include widely-used textbook authors and designers of missile guidance systems. It mostly depends on the professors. The Rutgers students who were in my summer Gen Chem II had more problems doing well than many of the serious CC students.

Largely depends on professors and classes, Bio I and Chem I were a joke, but orgo, calc, and physics are on par with those anywhere.

If you want to check the level of your classes, MIT has many of their syllabuses, tests, and classes online, you can look at them and test yourself for free.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

One last thing,

I don't want to come across as someone who is against going to CC. What I have found on this forum is that the people who live in regions with strong CCs tend to tell everyone that taking classes there is acceptable.

It is completely a regional thing on whether or not it is acceptable. Where I hail from, CCs are for the people who did not have the grades/ACT-SAT and/or drive to make it in a 4 year uni.

I would hate to see someone follow incorrect advice.

i agree with you. it depends on the school region. Like in my area, cc is wayy easier than college..i know a girl who went to cc and got 4.0 and then got into college and her gpa dropped tremendously.

 

[voxxx]

Thank you all for the replies, and to the moderator who moved my thread to the correct place.

I live in TX and go to Lone Star University (my community college). From what ive heard from a couple of my teachers, Lone Star is one of the better community colleges in TX but I have no idea if that is actually true or not.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Thank you all for the replies, and to the moderator who moved my thread to the correct place.

I live in TX and go to Lone Star University (my community college). From what ive heard from a couple of my teachers, Lone Star is one of the better community colleges in TX but I have no idea if that is actually true or not.

oh btw (don't quote)....i think you can be a pharmacist if you had problems with drugs in the past. I know that if you are in pharmacy school and are a student and you have a drug problem and you get help, you can practice pharmacy.

 

[phathead]

oh btw (don't quote)....i think you can be a pharmacist if you had problems with drugs in the past. I know that if you are in pharmacy school and are a student and you have a drug problem and you get help, you can practice pharmacy.

I know its a little different getting in with that kind of a problem. Once you're in, they want to recoup the amount of money they put into you.

 

[nicolemsm]

oh btw (don't quote)....i think you can be a pharmacist if you had problems with drugs in the past. I know that if you are in pharmacy school and are a student and you have a drug problem and you get help, you can practice pharmacy.

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[delano2000]

You will have to work harder to improve in your Math and Chem areas.

 

[voxxx]

Do the math classes that are past college algebra just get harder (I assume they do)? Because im not bad at math I just hate algebra in particular. Ive never taken a trig or calculus class and I dont know how similar the material is to algebra, if its any different than algebra then I might not dislike it so much.

 

[Passion4Sci]

When I was younger I experimented with a few illegal drugs

I hear Subway is hiring. that now's a good time to call truck driving school.

I am pretty bad at chemistry

If you can't handle something as easy as Stoich, now's a good time to choose another career.

 

[phathead]

I hear Subway is hiring.

Its truck driving school sci, remember? lol

 

[Passion4Sci]

Its truck driving school sci, remember? lol

Oh, woops.

Sorry chief!

Fixed.

 

[voxxx]

Thank you for the advice, although I could have done without everyones rude remarks. Just because some has done drugs in their past does not mean they are unintelligent by any means. There are many successful people who have done drugs in their past yet still hold respectable jobs. But I guess some people are just ignorant and have been successfully brainwashed by the DEA's failed war on drugs. Id think a med student would notice that the info they taught you in D.A.R.E in elementary school about drugs isnt exactly 100% accurate by any means but I guess I was wrong.

But thats basically answers my question. I guess a career in pharmacy might not be ideal for myself because of my dislike of chem/math.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Thank you for the advice, although I could have done without everyones rude remarks. Just because some has done drugs in their past does not mean they are unintelligent by any means. There are many successful people who have done drugs in their past yet still hold respectable jobs. But I guess some people are just ignorant and have been successfully brainwashed by the DEA's failed war on drugs. Id think a med student would notice that the info they taught you in D.A.R.E in elementary school about drugs isnt 100% accurate by any means but I guess I was wrong.

But thats basically answers my question. I guess a career in pharmacy might not be ideal for myself because of my dislike of chem/math.

It hasn't a thing to do with intelligence. It has everything to do with your judgment. If the drug charge(s) is anywhere on your record, I don't think any state board of pharmacy will even grant you an intern license. There are folks with Class C misdemeanor driving charges (Wet reckless, speed >25mph excess of limit, etc) that have to go through expungment, I can't imagine a drug charge being any better.

But, putting that aside, yeah, your dislike of the very basis for our career is not good.

Truck driving is, though, and they don't care if you smoke some jane every couple of days.

 

[voxxx]

Thats why I said I have no record of ever using drugs. I have no criminal record, have never taken a urinalysis in my life besides for before I started using drugs, so basically no one except my family/friends know I have done drugs. There is no record of it whatsoever. And im not even using drugs anymore nor have I been for several years now. So I wouldnt have to worry about a drug charge being on my record because I have no criminal record at all. The only thing on my legal file is 3 traffic accidents I have been in, 1 of which was not my fault. And all of the traffic citations ive received have been dismissed and ive never paid for or been convicted of any traffic citations in my life.

 

[nicolemsm]

Thats why I said I have no record of ever using drugs. I have no criminal record, have never taken a urinalysis in my life besides for before I started using drugs, so basically no one except my family/friends know I have done drugs. There is no record of it whatsoever. And im not even using drugs anymore nor have I been for several years now. So I wouldnt have to worry about a drug charge being on my record because I have no criminal record at all. The only thing on my legal file is 3 traffic accidents I have been in, 1 of which was not my fault. And all of the traffic citations ive received have been dismissed and ive never paid for or been convicted of any traffic citations in my life.

I would just like to note if you do anything and it gets put on your record IT never gets off. EVER. When a background check/ fingerprint check is run records from 20+ years ago still appear (they just have a note that says dismissed, not guilty, etc)

Many people don't understand the 7 yr expungement rule... Only the governor can legally expunge your record. Not a judge, not the courts, only the governor.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I would just like to note if you do anything and it gets put on your record IT never gets off. EVER. When a background check/ fingerprint check is run records from 20+ years ago still appear (they just have a note that says dismissed, not guilty, etc)

Many people don't understand the 7 yr expungement rule... Only the governor can legally expunge your record. Not a judge, not the courts, only the governor.

That's actually only true in some states. In CA, you file a formal motion and appear before a judge with the prosecutor (if available) who initially read the file against you. If the judge deems you 'worthy' of an expungement, you will be granted one and for almost all offenses, all history of said crime go "poof" for good. However, for licenses, you will have to disclose any expungment for any crime as an "expunged" conviction. That includes paramedics, physicians, dentists, CA lottery employees, etc.

 

[nicolemsm]

That's actually only true in some states. In CA, you file a formal motion and appear before a judge with the prosecutor (if available) who initially read the file against you. If the judge deems you 'worthy' of an expungement, you will be granted one and for almost all offenses, all history of said crime go "poof" for good. However, for licenses, you will have to disclose any expungment for any crime as an "expunged" conviction. That includes paramedics, physicians, dentists, CA lottery employees, etc.

That's correct. So even if it expunged it still will come up..

That's why you keep your nose clean...

 

[Duc888]

Thats why I said I have no record of ever using drugs. I have no criminal record, have never taken a urinalysis in my life besides for before I started using drugs, so basically no one except my family/friends know I have done drugs. There is no record of it whatsoever. And im not even using drugs anymore nor have I been for several years now. So I wouldnt have to worry about a drug charge being on my record because I have no criminal record at all. The only thing on my legal file is 3 traffic accidents I have been in, 1 of which was not my fault. And all of the traffic citations ive received have been dismissed and ive never paid for or been convicted of any traffic citations in my life.

a word of advice: keep your past drug problems to yourself if you can help it. not sure why you would even bring it up here if there is no record of it. i'm pretty sure no adcoms will read or remember reading about a student from lonestar cc with a drug problem but i suggest you stop broadcasting it from here on out as there is a certain stigma attached to it, which is especially relevant for someone who will have access to a bunch of tempting stuff at their future workplace. i'm not even a pharmacy student yet but i certainly wouldn't want you in my school or at my workplace if it was my decision and you had the poor enough judgement to broadcast this information without having to, let alone knowing of your problem in the first place.

 

[Passion4Sci]

That's correct. So even if it expunged it still will come up..

That's why you keep your nose clean...

Well, you made it sound like it'd never be "permanently expunged" for any reason. That is not the case, as for anything except licenses (e.g., flipping burgers, cleaning my shoes), it is gone.

Minor miscommunication.

 

[voxxx]

That's actually only true in some states. In CA, you file a formal motion and appear before a judge with the prosecutor (if available) who initially read the file against you. If the judge deems you 'worthy' of an expungement, you will be granted one and for almost all offenses, all history of said crime go "poof" for good. However, for licenses, you will have to disclose any expungment for any crime as an "expunged" conviction. That includes paramedics, physicians, dentists, CA lottery employees, etc.

What do you have to do to get it expunged from your record? What makes you 'worthy' of expungement? And do you think I would need to get my citations that were dismissed expunged before I could consider going to pharmacy school? Ive only gotten 2 citations, one for failing to have a valid drivers license (got in a wreck with an expired license) and another for failing to yield to oncoming traffic (which was what caused one of my wrecks), and both of these were given to me at the same time for 1 of my 3 wrecks ive been in.

And do you know if that applies to the state of TX?

 

[Passion4Sci]

What do you have to do to get it expunged from your record? What makes you 'worthy' of expungement? And do you think I would need to get my citations that were dismissed expunged before I could consider going to pharmacy school?

Traffic violations don't need to be disclosed if the fines are <$500... so don't worry about that.

Like Tinker said, to get something expunged for the purposes of licenses, you'll need to have the Governor on your side. And in some states, you can't even do that. You probably have to prove a change of heart...

But you've got bigger problems, such as your hatred of chemistry.

 

[UES Girl]

Thank you for the advice, although I could have done without everyones rude remarks. Just because some has done drugs in their past does not mean they are unintelligent by any means. There are many successful people who have done drugs in their past yet still hold respectable jobs. But I guess some people are just ignorant and have been successfully brainwashed by the DEA's failed war on drugs. Id think a med student would notice that the info they taught you in D.A.R.E in elementary school about drugs isnt exactly 100% accurate by any means but I guess I was wrong.

But thats basically answers my question. I guess a career in pharmacy might not be ideal for myself because of my dislike of chem/math.

Regardring dislike of chemistry and math:

I don't know about the rest of pharmacy school - but the first quarter was ALL chemistry and math - pharmaceutical calculations, physical chemistry, biostatistics, biopharmaceutical science (super mathy - have to graph on log paper). Next quarter we have several chemistry classes as well - seems so far like curriculum is HEAVILY based on chemistry/math.

Definitely explore more what pharmacy school is like and what it entails.

 

[voxxx]

Thank you all for the feedback it is really appreciated. Even though its not what I want to hear (regarding my dislike of math/chemistry). Thats why I am posting here, to ask people who have been though pharmacy school what I can expect regarding my dislike of chem/math. I think I might just look for a different career even though I like pharmacy because I just hate math and chem and from what it sounds like those are the 2 classes that pharm school is based on for the most part. But I have no idea what I want to do. Is that normal for a (fairly) new college student?

 

[bryantvo]

Just Do It

-NIKE

 

[Passion4Sci]

Is it normal to wonder what to do? Of course.. many of us are just getting into this line of work and we're near our 30s.

But don't try to put a square peg into a round hole just so you can make good money.

 

[voxxx]

Im not looking into a career of pharmacy because of the money. Its because I have an interest in how drugs interact with the human body. Im just trying to find out if a career in pharmacy is something that would be in my best interest. But im thinking maybe its not since I hate math and chemistry, and my interest in how drugs interact with humans is (for the most part) based on psychoactive drugs.

After reading everyones advice, I think maybe a career in pharmacy isnt for me. I dont want to be stuck doing a job for the rest of my life that I hate doing. I know I wouldnt hate doing pharmacy but I do hate the math/chem which apparently is basically what pharmacy is all about. I just dont know what I want to do, and its getting to the point where I need to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I have no clue and I am running out of time.

Again, thank you all for the advice it is genuinely appreciated.

 

[nicolemsm]

Im not looking into a career of pharmacy because of the money. Its because I have an interest in how drugs interact with the human body. Im just trying to find out if a career in pharmacy is something that would be in my best interest. But im thinking maybe its not since I hate math and chemistry, and my interest in how drugs interact with humans is (for the most part) based on psychoactive drugs.

After reading everyones advice, I think maybe a career in pharmacy isnt for me. I dont want to be stuck doing a job for the rest of my life that I hate doing. I know I wouldnt hate doing pharmacy but I do hate the math/chem which apparently is basically what pharmacy is all about. I just dont know what I want to do, and its getting to the point where I need to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I have no clue and I am running out of time.

Again, thank you all for the advice it is genuinely appreciated.

Have you taken any personality tests &/or career tests? Those seem to really help a lot of people decide and hone in on their interests.

 

[voxxx]

The only career aptitude test ive taken was the ASVAB and for some reason I never got the results of my test. But I was informed that I did great on the ASVAB, after receiving multiple calls from the army recruiter trying to recruit me, telling me that I got an A on the test.

 

[nicolemsm]

The only career aptitude test ive taken was the ASVAB and for some reason I never got the results of my test. But I was informed that I did great on the ASVAB, after receiving multiple calls from the army recruiter trying to recruit me, telling me that I got an A on the test.

I'm not really sure about anything that has to do with the military, but I do know a little about career tests. First I would start off by taking a simple free personality test that tells you what type of person you are ESTJ, INTJ, ISTP, etc. (http://www.keirsey.com/sorter/register.aspx) Then after you take that look into what kind of recommended jobs there are for your personality type. For example, I'm an ESTJ so I'm Extraversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judgment - so obviously a I shouldn't be stuck in an office cubicle with no personal contact with people if I am clearly an extrovert. Investigate your personality type more....

Then I would recommend taking a test by the name of Discover- it's made by the people who make ACT.
http://www.act.org/discover/ It shouldn't cost money, so if your school has a counselor, they typically have free usernames that you can use to take this test.

And from there you should get a better idea of jobs suited for you.

 

[Passion4Sci]

There is no "A" on the ASVAB. It's a scaled score from 1 to 99, 99 being the highest (percentile). I guess a recruiter could've told you that you got an "A" meaning you scored somewhere over about the 80th percentile, meaning (in the Army) you'd be qual'd for basically any MOS training.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

Traffic violations don't need to be disclosed if the fines are <$500... so don't worry about that.

Like Tinker said, to get something expunged for the purposes of licenses, you'll need to have the Governor on your side. And in some states, you can't even do that. You probably have to prove a change of heart...

But you've got bigger problems, such as your hatred of chemistry.

That wasn't me that was Nicole... lol It was early morning over in Cali I understand if you were tired.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

Im not looking into a career of pharmacy because of the money. Its because I have an interest in how drugs interact with the human body. Im just trying to find out if a career in pharmacy is something that would be in my best interest. But im thinking maybe its not since I hate math and chemistry, and my interest in how drugs interact with humans is (for the most part) based on psychoactive drugs.

After reading everyones advice, I think maybe a career in pharmacy isnt for me. I dont want to be stuck doing a job for the rest of my life that I hate doing. I know I wouldnt hate doing pharmacy but I do hate the math/chem which apparently is basically what pharmacy is all about. I just dont know what I want to do, and its getting to the point where I need to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I have no clue and I am running out of time.

Again, thank you all for the advice it is genuinely appreciated.

How drugs interact with the human body IS chemistry.

And you will need to know math as well to understand kinetics, etc.

Plus, if you are only interested in psychoactive drugs then you might be really bored with all of the other therapeutic drugs you will be learning about.

 

[crazybob]

oh btw (don't quote)....i think you can be a pharmacist if you had problems with drugs in the past. I know that if you are in pharmacy school and are a student and you have a drug problem and you get help, you can practice pharmacy.

If you have any drug problems or alcohol related problems, there are things you can work out with the state board of pharmacy to get your intern license and become a pharmacist. I know few people in my class who are doing that. They ended up getting their licenses a month or two late because of that.

But from what I have heard, it's a lot of trouble just because of few things on their records from something that they seem like "a small mistake" that lead to huge consequences.

 

[crazybob]

Im not looking into a career of pharmacy because of the money. Its because I have an interest in how drugs interact with the human body. Im just trying to find out if a career in pharmacy is something that would be in my best interest. But im thinking maybe its not since I hate math and chemistry, and my interest in how drugs interact with humans is (for the most part) based on psychoactive drugs.

After reading everyones advice, I think maybe a career in pharmacy isnt for me. I dont want to be stuck doing a job for the rest of my life that I hate doing. I know I wouldnt hate doing pharmacy but I do hate the math/chem which apparently is basically what pharmacy is all about. I just dont know what I want to do, and its getting to the point where I need to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I have no clue and I am running out of time.

Again, thank you all for the advice it is genuinely appreciated.

How drugs interact with the human body IS chemistry.

And you will need to know math as well to understand kinetics, etc.

Plus, if you are only interested in psychoactive drugs then you might be really bored with all of the other therapeutic drugs you will be learning about.

You learn that in PDA and Med Chem. You also do a little in BioChem.

You get into a little more detail in Pharmacology where you learn how they work in general.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Ah, Tinker, all you girls on here post alike

 

[voxxx]

There is no "A" on the ASVAB. It's a scaled score from 1 to 99, 99 being the highest (percentile). I guess a recruiter could've told you that you got an "A" meaning you scored somewhere over about the 80th percentile, meaning (in the Army) you'd be qual'd for basically any MOS training.

Yes now that you mention it I think this was the case, it was in the highest percentile. But that test was a joke, and the only 'benefit' I got from it was being harassed by army recruiters trying to recruit me.

Also, as far as those personality tests go, I think I remember taking one when I was in 10th grade in high school. But I forget what my results were. Ill have to look into those personality tests because I really have no idea what I want to do and the only other thing (that I know of) that interests me besides drugs is histoy.

Again, thank you all for the info you have all been very helpful.

 

[yappy]

OP: Sounds like you enjoy looking into some drugs action on a systems level without taking the time to study the not-so-easy-to-understand details - thats fine. One career field you might find interesting is drug and alcohol counselor. You will learn about the drugs that are probobely most interesting to you and work with those who are struggling with them.
As far as your view of D.A.R.E. and the effort to keep people off illegal drugs and prevent alcohol abuse... I think you're a fool. I went through those programs and felt it gave me some education of the dangers of drugs - I still remember the cop from my 4th grade class, it was a fun time.

 

[voxxx]

Yappy-That is one possibility I have been thinking about. But as far as my view of D.A.R.E. goes, its a double edged sword. Sure, D.A.R.E. serves a noble purpose, but they are going about it wrong. Kids go through D.A.R.E. and learn that drugs are bad, then a few years later when they enter the rebellious teenager stage the D.A.R.E. education backfires and they start doing drugs, precisely because they are illegal and "doing a bad thing" (which makes it all the more exciting) to go along with their rebellious stage which leads to (not all, but some) people becoming addicted rather than simple experimentation. It kind of puts drugs on a pedestal so to speak, which I believe makes many more people more likely to try them. If they didnt learn about all the drugs in D.A.R.E. im sure many people wouldnt even know some drugs even exist.

Also, I never spontaneously died or became insane and started hearing voices after smoking a joint, which is what they taught me in D.A.R.E. that would happen if I ever tried the 'deadly drug' marijuana. D.A.R.E. uses scare tactics and once people find out that the info they learned in D.A.R.E. isnt correct (on any level) then they tend to adopt an attitude of mistrust about the government drug education programs and the info (scare tactics) about drugs they give out.

But to each his own.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

Ah, Tinker, all you girls on here post alike

This is true LOL We like to use the LULZ and and also a few with some thrown in.

Just kidding... but yeah, it's usually not hard to spot a female typist on the forums... especially with all these awesome smileys they provide us.

 

[nicolemsm]

Yappy-That is one possibility I have been thinking about. But as far as my view of D.A.R.E. goes, its a double edged sword. Sure, D.A.R.E. serves a noble purpose, but they are going about it wrong. Kids go through D.A.R.E. and learn that drugs are bad, then a few years later when they enter the rebellious teenager stage the D.A.R.E. education backfires and they start doing drugs, precisely because they are illegal and "doing a bad thing" (which makes it all the more exciting) to go along with their rebellious stage which leads to (not all, but some) people becoming addicted rather than simple experimentation. It kind of puts drugs on a pedestal so to speak, which I believe makes many more people more likely to try them. If they didnt learn about all the drugs in D.A.R.E. im sure many people wouldnt even know some drugs even exist.

Also, I never spontaneously died or became insane and started hearing voices after smoking a joint, which is what they taught me in D.A.R.E. that would happen if I ever tried the 'deadly drug' marijuana. D.A.R.E. uses scare tactics and once people find out that the info they learned in D.A.R.E. isnt correct (on any level) then they tend to adopt an attitude of mistrust about the government drug education programs and the info (scare tactics) about drugs they give out.

But to each his own.

Of course kids will want to rebel, but I don't blame D.A.R.E for putting the kids to it. I took D.A.R.E classes, even wrote an essay and won in a state contest.... but that's besides the point. I sit here before you never touched a drug in my life, nor a sip of alcohol. I really don't think a program is to blame for kids trying drugs. Sure the program goes about telling kids to stay away from drugs in the most unrealistic ways (hallucinations, beer goggle demonstrations) but I think it's better to forewarn kids rather than never warn them at all. If a kid's going to try something, they're going to try it. In today's society, obviously parents should be there (that's a whole 'nother debate though). Kids wouldn't be doing these outlandish things if they had guidance. Many kids who do try drugs and alcohol live in troubled homes with no parent present to put them on a straight path. If you've never had any guidance, kids assume they can just do everything on their own. So they go out and look for ways to be like the rest. I'm not saying that ALL kids do this, but a vast majority just want to fit in and be like their friends. Issues with alcohol and drug abuse is adolescents today is just astounding. I can't believe some of the things I hear come out of my little brother's mouth when he gets home from school everyday... Parents really need to be more proactively involved in their children's lives.

 

[samuricool]

Traffic violations don't need to be disclosed if the fines are <$500... so don't worry about that.

Like Tinker said, to get something expunged for the purposes of licenses, you'll need to have the Governor on your side. And in some states, you can't even do that. You probably have to prove a change of heart...

But you've got bigger problems, such as your hatred of chemistry.

Depends on the state. My intern license is currently being held up for two speeding tickets that were 8 and 5 years ago and because I did not disclose them and they are digging deeper into my past to make sure there was nothing else that I didnt disclose and should have. Your best bet is to either get your record expunged or get documentation about all of your past transgressions and disclose them to the state board when submitting your application. Some states dont require the likes of a governor or any official other than an office clerk to get your record expunged for minor traffic violations if it is after a certain period of time.