What happens if your child is caught selling drugs?

On Behalf of | Mar 19, 2019 | Drug Charges, Federal Drug Charges

When your children are young, you see them as perfect, innocent human beings. They could do no wrong in your eyes because they are your kids. But as young children become young adults, a parent’s perspective shifts.

You can no longer control your children’s decisions, especially when they move off to college. It’s up to them to take action and live with the consequences. But what happens to your child if they are caught distributing drugs?

School Penalties
While all colleges discourage drug use or distribution on campus, each school has a unique approach to the disciplinary process. For example, Johns Hopkins University states in its code of conduct, “its primary response to issues of alcohol and drug abuse must be through educational programs, as well as through intervention and treatment efforts.” You can take this to mean school officials want to treat students, instead of punishing them.

However, all colleges also follow state laws. At Johns Hopkins University, students need to uphold the expectations of the school and the state, or the students will suffer punishments from not only the college, but could also wind up facing criminal charges.
It’s not uncommon for students who distribute drugs on campus to have a disciplinary action hearing and receive suspension or expulsion from the college. But it’s very dependent on the school’s policy, so you will want to check with the specific college’s code of conduct.

State Consequences

If the school finds evidence of drug distribution, academic officials will involve the local police, and the criminal punishments are far more intense than any school penalties.
In Maryland, your son or daughter could wind up facing a possession with intent to distribute charge, which can result in prison time and having to pay thousands of dollars in fines.

To put this into perspective, depending on the circumstances, a now 21-year-old could wind up no longer finishing college and behind bars until they are 40. This will literally derail their entire life, changing the entire family dynamic. Suddenly, their hopes and dreams – along with your hopes and dreams – are on the line.

Of course, not all charges result in a guilty verdict – and not all guilty verdicts or pleas result in having to serve the maximum amount of time. But it’s important to understand just how serious these charges are right from the very beginning, so you can make appropriate decisions for how to best move forward.

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