Although I am too old to worry about going into the military now, I am still happy my arrest record has been expunged
When I was sixteen, I was arrested for illegal use of pot. I had enough pot on me that they tried to press charges for intent to sell, but that didn’t hold. I had purchased the marijuana for a party my friends and I were having. The six of us were arrested because the police followed me to my house. I was underage, driving a car without a legal license, purchasing illegal marijuana, and driving while under the influence. The Chicago, IL juvenile court threw the book at me and I ended up with an arrest record and had to do community service for three months. That arrest record stuck with until they passed marijuana laws several years ago. When the laws for legal use of marijuana was passed, they also added an amendment that would expunge all arrest records for people who were arrested for illegal marijuana use. I had tried to get into the service, but I couldn’t get security clearance because of my arrest record. They wanted someone who would be trustworthy, and I didn’t pass that test. Although I am too old to worry about going into the military now, I am still happy my arrest record has been expunged. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get anywhere now that my record has been expunged, but I am now eligible to run for a local government office in my home town of Chicago, IL, because I have no arrests on record to hold mew back. I haven’t used marijuana or done anything else that is legal since that night, and who knows, maybe someday I’ll be able to run for mayor of Chicago, IL.