prior drug convictions.....

[Lava]

hi im new around here....
currently im at a CC about ready to do my pre reqs to transfer in bio/or chem.
in the past ive had a felony drug conviction (plead guilty) which can be reduced to a misdemeanor.
i have been doing a lot of search on old messages but my biggest questions are.....
1. from what i have read, dental schools don't like CC credit..... whats the best route/major i should go? anything with upper division bio/chem???

2. most important.... will i be accepted into any D school and upon passing, will i be able to get my license for controlled substances from the DEA???

if anyone can also point me in the direction of who i should email or call would also help.
if any of you people have first hand knowledge or friends that have been through the asked questions would be awesome!
i live in CA btw, thank you people!!!

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[fireblast713]

might help if you clarify the nature of the drug conviction, in any case I'd imagine that that would be an issue both with acceptance to D school and licensing later on

 

[Regmata]

Stay out of the CC...now for the drug issue. That may not even fall under the jurisdiction of the school, it may be a government issue. Substance abuse has been a problem in dentistry and a prior record of drug issues may be just enough to keep you out. Before embarking on the whole journey, I would make sure that your past won't bar you from becoming licensed. This is probably not the place to do it, but hopefully someone can point you in the right direction.

 

[armorshell]

You're going to need to check with more of an authority than SDN on this one, but having a prior drug conviciton could affect both your future prescription privalages and your ability to get federal financial aid.

I did know a doctor who had a fairly minor drug related charge from when they were young, and they had to have another doctor write all of their scripts for them.

 

[jdoc04]

I am almost positive if you have a felony on your record you can't get a controlled sub license.

 

[Lava]

i can get the felony dropped to a misdemeanor. it was for ecstasy.
who might be the best person to answer my questions? if someone can point me to their website or email that would be of great help.

unfortunately staying out of a CC is the only current option, i know i won't be able to get financial aid but i'll figure that part out if my dreams are even possible

 

[DSpagnoli]

i can get the felony dropped to a misdemeanor. it was for ecstasy.
who might be the best person to answer my questions? if someone can point me to their website or email that would be of great help.

unfortunately staying out of a CC is the only current option, i know i won't be able to get financial aid but i'll figure that part out if my dreams are even possible

My brother is a lawyer, and after asking him about this he said he would need more information: Also, the best person for this to talk to is someone from the department of health in your state, and a lawyer.

Was this for possession (quantity?) or for intent to distribute?

Were you actually "convicted" (i.e. found guilty?) or just charged for the crime and then given an alternate resolution? Any plea bargains? If you were found guilty, did you complete a drug-rehab program? Did you hire a lawyer to handle your case, and what did you plea?

Also, did this conviction occur while you were recieving federal financial aid for school?

Depending on these answers, you may be eligible for government financial aid. Also, the conviction may not prevent you from getting accepted into a dental school - rather, the larger issue would be attaining a DEA # to prescribe controlled substances. The wording on the controlled substance application is important though (depends on state also).....it is only important if you were actually convicted (found guilty).

 

[SanOnofre2002]

i can get the felony dropped to a misdemeanor. it was for ecstasy.
who might be the best person to answer my questions? if someone can point me to their website or email that would be of great help.

unfortunately staying out of a CC is the only current option, i know i won't be able to get financial aid but i'll figure that part out if my dreams are even possible

Going to a CC is fine, don't let anyone freak you out about it. You won't get into a d-school until you transfer and have a track record at a univ, but the CC stigma is way overblown.
Regarding the conviction, if you can get it reduced to a misdemeanor, why haven't you? You should have done that already, even w/o planning for d-school. A felony is going to limit your opportunities in so many ways. Don't procrastinate.

 

[SuperC]

First: You need to speak to an attorney.
Second: There is nothing wrong with a community college. Just don't take too many of your core classes there and you will be fine.

 

[Lava]

thank you for your answers guys
you are all of much great help
i feel much better that it is still possible going to a CC

dspagnoli- i took a plea bargain to get outta jail(when ur in jail u just wanna get out), i didn't do no program because it wasn't offered to me, i had no attorney. i was charged with possession but it is still a felony because it is a controlled substance.
financial aid, i feel i can deal with that because money of course isn't as big of an issue as getting the DEA to let me prescribe controlled substances if i go through with my dreams. yea i am trying to talk to the dentist my cousin worked for so i can talk to the right lawyers.
if you can give me anymore info or who to contact, that would help me more.
thanks!!!

 

[Lava]

also to answer sanonofre2002 - it hasn't been long enough for me to get it reduced

i just need to know before i commit a lot of effort to something that isn't possible, if you understand where i am coming from
if it isn't possible, i might as well look at other options then my dream

 

[Regmata]

If you stay at a CC for too long, don't bother applying to my school or any other school that uses the "point system." Sure some schools will not automatically reject you for it, but it has a negative impact on your application and too much CC, whether core sciences are not equals a rejection. This I didn't pick up from pre-dents on this forum or eavesdropping in the cafeteria...I heard this straight from the mouth of my professor, who is on the adcom.

 

[rlturner36]

I definitely wouldn't worry about going to a community college. Just make sure your grades are mostly A's. I went to a community college and had 74 credits from there... I was accepted to 6 dental schools, so you shouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[SugarNaCl]

Hmmm. I took Physics I and II (prereqs) at a CC over the summer and I had no problem with being accepted, but I agree it looks bad to take a full science course load at a CC. It looks much better from a University. I had a BS in Bio, minor in General Management and an MS in bio all from 4 year Universities.

As for the drugs...I also agree as soon as you are able regardless of dental school you need to knock that down! Too bad sometimes that one stupid mistake (or probably more but one where you get caught) can screw up so many aspects of your future.

 

[ilovecanines]

If you stay at a CC for too long, don't bother applying to my school or any other school that uses the "point system." Sure some schools will not automatically reject you for it, but it has a negative impact on your application and too much CC, whether core sciences are not equals a rejection. This I didn't pick up from pre-dents on this forum or eavesdropping in the cafeteria...I heard this straight from the mouth of my professor, who is on the adcom.

What school do you attend?

 

[askadds]

i know VCU starting this year requires a full criminal report before your allowed to start. i dont know about other schools.

 

[SugarNaCl]

i know VCU starting this year requires a full criminal report before your allowed to start. i dont know about other schools.

Yeah, they had the background check last year too. Stinks you have to pay like $50 for it. I hope it's standard

 

[Dentalicous1234]

I think it makes sense for them to do a background check. It's just like when you go to work for a company or anything else big they want to make sure you're legit.

Plus, I would think that they would background check and drug test you too. The drug test to make sure you haven't been doing anything bad in the past couple of months! If you don't have anything to hide and you are doing what you say you have it shouldn't matter

 

[rayray92869]

I got into Columbia with all my core classes from a CC. so its not THAT big of a deal. But you probably would have to do pretty well in them.

 

[SugarNaCl]

Apply to schools in California. They want to legalize pot, they may be more willing to accept someone caught with drugs. They are the Amsterdam of the U.S., aren't they?

 

[harjay]

Apply to schools in California. They want to legalize pot, they may be more willing to accept someone caught with drugs. They are the Amsterdam of the U.S., aren't they?

Hohoho. just because people in Cali are pot smoking hippies doesn't mean the school will let you in with a felony

 

[SugarNaCl]

Hohoho. just because people in Cali are pot smoking hippies doesn't mean the school will let you in with a felony

 

[the prodogy]

My brother is a lawyer, and after asking him about this he said he would need more information: Also, the best person for this to talk to is someone from the department of health in your state, and a lawyer.

I was wondering if you could ask your brother another question. I also got arrested for being drunk in public, but I plead not guilty and got it dismissed by going to ten AA meetings. I was wondering if that was going to show up on my record when I apply to D school. If it does, I was wondering if there is anyway to take it out so that it doesn't show up in my record at all so that the D schools I apply to never see it. Thanks

 

[Meganfox]

I was wondering if you could ask your brother another question. I also got arrested for being drunk in public, but I plead not guilty and got it dismissed by going to ten AA meetings. I was wondering if that was going to show up on my record when I apply to D school. If it does, I was wondering if there is anyway to take it out so that it doesn't show up in my record at all so that the D schools I apply to never see it. Thanks

Why don't you go see a lawyer? Or at least do a criminal background check on yourself. This is not where you go for legal advice.

 

[Lopyswine]

the very fact that you HAVEN'T had the felony reduced to misdemeanor is mind boggling...

regardless of aspirations of professional school, if you have the opportunity to get a felony off your record, why aren't you seizing it?

 

[Regmata]

Prod...that is a misdemeanor, who cares? Either way, it probably won't show up and if it does it will show up only as either an arrest or citation if it was in fact dismissed. If asked about it, you had a crazy spring break one year...

 

[DSpagnoli]

I was wondering if you could ask your brother another question. I also got arrested for being drunk in public, but I plead not guilty and got it dismissed by going to ten AA meetings. I was wondering if that was going to show up on my record when I apply to D school. If it does, I was wondering if there is anyway to take it out so that it doesn't show up in my record at all so that the D schools I apply to never see it. Thanks

This should be no big deal. If the charges were dismissed, then you were not convicted of the crime. You got lucky

If it does turn up, the fact that you attended AA meetings is excellent. Dental Schools will not see this information, unless they actively seek out criminal backgrounds. This will not prevent you from getting federal financial aid either. As far as getting licensed to prescribe controlled substances, well...you were not convicted

 

[146233]

SDN does not provide legal advice. Please consult an attorney and/or your state's licensing board for more information. Thank you.