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Larmer

Hold up on that thought.

At this time, yeah, it might seem a little too much, but your parents are still there on this one, trust me; you just have to attack it from the right angle...

"There is the possibility for conditional discharge for possession charges."

That's from norml. That is very important to you, and will only occur if you have a lawyer. How are your grades? That'll be a very important factor, as will your "reputation". Get letters of reference, from profs, from TAs, from anyone you can think of that would support you (upstanding hopefully!) character.

Your job, through the assistance of a lawyer of course, will be to convince the judge and the prosecutor that a conviction against you will only hinder your chances of remaining a productive member of society. The conditional discharge is the mercy clause, and it seems as though your state recognizes that people **** up every now and then. Being in a university town will help as well, this thing has surely arisen before. Having a criminal record, being kicked out of school for lack of financial resources, and ending up bankrupt is not suitable punishment for a person who will end up with a degree in a few years.

As for your parents, I'm convinced that after the "shock" of the entire thing subsides, they'll be more compassionate towards your position. Explain to them that if you get convicted, they'll be the proud parents of a kid who just might be the next garbageman in the city (no offence to current garbagemen of course, it's a proud profession, if it's your type of thing). They want to see you finish school, get rich, and pay for their retirement, every parent wants that. You have to convince them that their support will be crucial, and that without them you're toast. Be blunt, tell them that you need to finish school, you'll pay them back as soon as possibly feasible, anything to avoid that criminal record.

Do not take a plea bargain, do not try it without a lawyer. Do that and you're ****ed, plain and simple. It's damage control time, and consider a record the worst possible scenario. You can get out of this one if you try...

Aw crap. Just realized something rather important... Where do you go to school? If you say Texas, ignore everything I said, move up to Canada...

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SmokeyK8

oooh.... dont worry bout it too much mate, i have a story a bit like that (well several) i was in the bushes across from my school at lunchtime with 5 other ppl smoking pipes, then 3 cops (one of them the school liasion officer) and a teacher all swarm around us... we all shat, got in touble for being off the school grounds and then all got done fo possession.
A 'friend' i used to have did a snatch and run, ran past me and threw the loot on me so coppers busted us both, when they searched my bag they found my seeds, my pipe and a bunch of empty baggies, got done for shopliting and possession in one go.
At school some one hinted the principal that i had drugs on me, i didn't but they found my bong, then when they searched my locker they found a foil that i didn't even remember i had. ****ter...
if i get caught for anything at all, they strip search me, and since i only have one more chance (i'd been busted for shoplifting twice before) im bein very careful, im not up to being raped by brooms in a detention centre... yikes!

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Oh lovely mull bud chopped with care, give me a hit that'll leave me unaware, then with tingling smok to spare reduce me down to underwear, fly straight and true, hit me hard and square, this oh mull bud is my prayer...

Rusty_Cage

"I never thought it'd happen to me" is an all to common phrase in these situations. That's no good man, but you should go with that break from pot you plan on. This will at least show your parents that weed was never a big thing for you, but it is the police who make it out that way. Maybe this will buy you a bit of sympathy.

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WNB

But it is...

Larmer: I'm not exactly sure what you think a lawyer will do for me. The cops didn't screw up on anything. Paying him would cost more than paying off all the other costs I'd face without a lawyer, and probably still face with a lawyer. As for that conditional discharge thing...I think it's kind of moot, because I have never heard of a first time pot offender going. go to jail, anyway.

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Vyx420

I'm so sorry that you're going throught his horrible time. I wish there was something I could say to make it better...to take the pain, fear, grief, frustration, anger (etc) away.

Give your parents time. I can say this because I AM a parent..I know if any of my children fell into a situation like this, I'd be PISSED! I'd be angry, frustrated....all of the above. HOWEVER, I love my children FIERCELY and your parents love you too. Even if it seems as though they are your worst enemy, they aren't. They're just confused. You are theirs and theirs alone and when it really truly comes down to the wire, they will be there for you. They are reeling right now. They don't know how to feel, PLUS are very concerned and worried for you too. Trust me, I know how it is. They will be there, even if it seems impossible for that to occur now.

Are you staying with them right now? I know you said you'd flown home to see them. I'm here for you if you need me. We all are.

Hugs...

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integranegra

WNB - your situation, while EXTREMELY unfortunate, is a huge teaching tool. I am a freshman in college, and i am a F-cking idiot. I smoke all day with whoever wants to blaze, and we use a spoof and ar every careful, but it is too hard to hide when you do it all the time. Before reading all of your full post, i ran aorund my room collectng everyhting drug related, threw it in a backpack, and stashed it in my bathroom(suite bathroom).
Your story is a reminder of what can happen to me, and that will help alot of people. Youre a marijuana martyr.

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Closet Pigs

How did they get a warrant just based on the fact that you were burning incense?

WNB

They were allowed to bust in because I live in a dorm. Once in, I guess the fact that I was obviously high and burning incense was all they needed. They were too ****ing stupid to even know what the gravity bong was until after they went to get the warrent, so that wasn't the reason. But my room is pretty stereotypical of a stoner room-lava lights, fractal posters, fan by the window...I'm sure all they said to the judge was that they knew they would find weed. There have also been several complaints about other people on my floor smoking in their rooms, so I'd guess they really, really wanted to bust someone, and told the judge whatever they needed to to get a warrent.

Negra: Happy I helped someone...but you can probably keep your stuff in your room. They didn't check my freezer, and they weren't very careful about checking the pockets of clothes on the floor and in my closet, as they didn't even find alot of my weed and a pipe.

Vyx: Thanks.

Comatose

Hey man...

I feel for ya, bud...Theres nothing I despise seeing more than an innocent, probably harmless, fellow stoner being busted for smoking a natural-growing plant that our brains all have natural receptors for. That and the fact that I smoke in my room all the time makes it really hit home.

Larmer had some good advice; I'm not sure I'd wanna take this on without a lawyer. Usually when you contact a lawyer and such, they tell you if its worth taking to court or not...like your chances of winning and stuff. It might at least be something to check out.

Good luck, man.

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Larmer

Jail isn't your concern here, it's the criminal record. If I ever got arrested and charged with possession, I don't really give a **** about jail time, it ain't going to happen. However, that criminal record is like a giant ****ing neon sign on your forehead that screams, "Don't hire me, I'm a goddamn junkie!!!". That would be the end of my future, not a fine or jail time.

You have the chance to get a conditional discharge, which means no conviction, ergo no record. That also means that you still get government assistance, you probably will still stay at that school, and you won't have to tick off that little box that says "have you ever been convicted...." on an employment application. You know what happens to applications with a check mark in that little box? I do, I worked in human resources all summer: it ends up in the bottom of the filing cabinet, or if I'd had a bad morning, in the "round file".

Your odds of being convicted without a lawyer are fairly high. If you do get one, it's not so that he can pick apart the cops' case piece by piece, we both know that isn't going to happen, your res policy legitimized everything. What he's going to do is say, "judge, my client isn't a ****wad all the time, he just got into a bad situation, please show him mercy". He's also going to know the judge, perhaps not on a golfing basis, but he'll be aware of the history. Even better, he'll know the crown, and that'll help a helluva lot. Convince them before the case even gets to trial that you deserve a second, record free, chance.

This is your whole life here, and all you have going for you is the discharge. If I were you, I'd do everything I could to ensure that that occured...