In most countries being caught with drugs will land you a decent fine or a stint in jail. In some countries you will even get the death sentence. None of this is really a secret. In fact it is repeated so often in the media that it would be difficult to find people who weren’t aware of these facts.
The public knowledge of legal penalties for drugs, however, seems to begin and end at knowledge of potential jail time and possible death sentences in some countries.
But what about the hidden punishments that are associated with drug convictions? Let’s take a look at a few.
Education - In the US, if you have a prior drug conviction, then you are at a major disadvantage. Federal law disallows elligability drug convictees to access federal student aid. In fact there is a great little worksheet available from the government to find out exactly how screwed you are.
This law seems somewhat counterproductive. Logic would sugest that education would be the main component in allowing a drug offender to remove themselves from the world of drugs, yet this law negatively targets the exact demographic who would be best served by education.
Legal Status - If you are living in a country as a permanent resident (rather than a citizen), then a drug conviction may (and probably will) be used as grounds to deport you from most western countries and probably a lot of others too. This happened recently in Australia where a 53 year old Vietnamese grandmother whose relatives were all Australian citizens and who had a history of serious mental illness was the target of an official effort to remove her from the country. Drug convictions have also led to deportations in the US when an Afghan man was deported to Afghanistan despite not having lived there since the age of 3.
In some cases, drug convictions from several years prior, are used as an excuse to deport a person.
Employment - Many employment contracts actually will stipulate that a worker is required to disclose a drug conviction to their employer. The results of such disclosure can be anything from termination or suspension to mandatory rehab etc.
Now, let’s say two job applicants for the same job have equal experience and references. One also has a drug conviction that they disclosed according to the terms set out by the prospective employer. Which one is more likely to get the job? If both get the job and perform equally, which is more likely to get a promotion?
Housing - In some areas, landlords are held accountable for actions that take place on their property. This includes anything to do with drugs. When people are asked to disclose drug history on their tenant application forms (and lying can void any contracts) then people with a drug conviction are in a far worse position.
While a drug conviction and its immediate punishment seem reasonably harsh in many instances, if you look a lottle deeper into what a drug conviction can actually mena in later life, the true inconvenience of even having one can far outweigh the conviction itself.
Some people will say that’s fair enough, others will think it too harsh or a misplacd effort. No matter which camp you fall into, it probably better to avoid a drug conviction in the first place.
