A Diligent And Dedicated Defender

Your student loan’s at risk if court convicts you on drug charges

On Behalf of | Apr 20, 2017 | Drug Charges

Most college students in North Carolina and elsewhere know people who graduate, then continue to struggle to pay back their student loans for years (even decades) into their futures. Many marry and have families, which typically includes various other types of ongoing expenses. They enter the workforce (although perhaps not in the specific fields they hold their degrees), and as life unfolds before them, they find it more and more challenging to satisfy their student loan debts. 

That said, no college student wants anything to happen that puts the chance of obtaining a student loan at risk. Several types of incidents might, however, including a conviction in a criminal court on drug charges. It’s no secret drug-related offenses rank high on the list of common reasons college students get arrested. 

Possible explanations why police make so many drug arrests 

Some say the government and law enforcement agencies should concentrate more effort on solving serious crimes, such as those involving murders or robberies. Even so, several possible reasons for so many drug arrests in this state and others include the following: 

  • Solving serious crimes often proves difficult. When police officers face arrest quotas, they might focus their attentions on drug-related offenses because it’s easier to find probable cause for these types of arrests. 
  • In North Carolina, marijuana remains illegal; however, in states where it’s decriminalized, many officers do things such as request those they frisk to take the marijuana out of their pockets, thus creating cause for possession in public view charges. 
  • The potential for police departments to financially profit from seizures and forfeitures of funds during drug searches and arrests could motive such arrests. 
  • One arrest often leads to others. For instance, a defendant accepts a plea bargain in exchange for providing information to authorities regarding other key players or possible arrests connected to a particular incident. 

You might not realize that a drug crime conviction typically makes you ineligible to receive student loans. In fact, this represents yet another reason to support the opinions of those who decry authorities’ apparent focus on drug crimes since a person convicted for smoking marijuana can’t get a student loan, but someone who commits an obviously more serious offense such as robbery or murder can. 

The last thing you need while you’re attending college at High Point University or another North Carolina school is to call home, informing your parents that you’re in trouble with the law and facing drug charges. However, if this describes your current situation, you certainly aren’t the first person to experience this. Many other students before you successfully avoided conviction and rectified their situations by obtaining aggressive criminal defense assistance. When you make your phone call home, you can discuss this important topic.