If you’ve been charged with a drug crime, your best bet is to call our criminal defense attorneys for help. The consequences of a drug crime conviction can be severe and can follow you for the rest of your life. Here are just 6 of the consequences you can expect if you’re convicted of a drug-related crime in Michigan.  If you are interested in knowing about Michigan Marijuana laws, ask!  We are happy to assist.

1. Revoked Driver’s License

Most Americans depend on their car in order to drive to work, run errands, or drop their kids off at school. Depending on the state you live in, your driver’s license may be automatically suspended as soon as you’re found guilty of a drug crime. 

While many states have scaled back on driver’s license suspensions, you’ll need to consult with a criminal defense lawyer to see how a drug conviction could affect your ability to drive. Not being able to drive after getting out of jail or prison can severely limit your ability to re-integrate with society.

2. Fines

If you are convicted of a drug crime, you will be responsible for paying fines. The more serious the crime, the more money you’ll have to pay. For example, selling marijuana is less serious than trafficking drugs across state and national lines. You could end up paying thousands of dollars in fines for drug possession or possession with intent to distribute.

3. Jail Time

The amount of jail time you receive will depend on the drug, the amount you were caught with, and what you intended to do with the drug. For example, having a small amount of cocaine for personal use is a lesser crime than transporting large supplies of heroin across state and national borders. Still, most convictions for drug crimes will end with spending time behind bars. Drug crime attorneys can help minimize jail time for drug crimes by negotiating drug crime sentencing.

4. Difficulty Finding Housing

Landlords commonly run background checks on potential tenants. Unfortunately, many people are unwilling to rent to anyone with a criminal history, especially drug crime convictions. This can make it difficult to find housing after getting out of prison. Your criminal record can also affect your ability to secure a loan if you wanted to buy a house in the future.

5. Employment Eligibility

A criminal record is something that follows you around for the rest of your life. While it may not seem like a big deal at first, you may slowly come to realize just how many people use criminal background checks to screen people for potential employment. 

Not only will this make it difficult to find a job after jail time, but many employers do not run a background check until after a tentative job offer has been provided, which means many people might leave their previous job only to have their new offer revoked. 

6. No Federal Student Aid

Federal student aid and most applications for college admission require you to be truthful about your criminal record. If you were convicted of a drug crime, this will show up on your record and make you ineligible for student loans backed by the government. 

While you could always go with a private student loan company, the rates will be much higher. Unfortunately, a college admissions department also may not want to take a chance on a student with a criminal record.

Need Help?

Drug charges of any kind can leave a serious mark on your record. At John Engman & Associates, P.C., our Michigan drug attorneys will do everything in their power to clear your name. To request a consultation with one of our Grand Rapids, MI drug lawyers, give our office a call at (616) 454-5222.