While having a few tokes now and then and maybe growing a bit of weed in the garden amongst the tomatoes is “cool man,” be aware that even something that is seemingly relatively insignificant on the surface may dog a person for the rest of their natural lives.

“Drug offenses, even small ones, have a habit of hanging around for years, if not permanently,” said Daniel H. Wannamaker of Wannamaker Law in Austin, Texas. Wannamaker would definitely know what he’s talking about since one of his major areas of practice deals with defending drug offenses. “I see this kind of thing happening all the time, a simple possession charge spiraling out of control and the person gets slammed,” added Wannamaker.

Wannamaker has an extensive record as a board certified criminal defense lawyer and knows immediately how to handle the various cases brought to him. “Don’t assume that just because it is a “dinky” amount of weed or whatever drug you may have been busted for, that the consequences may not be more than you bargained for,” explained Wannamaker. Having said that, Wannamaker’s role in defending someone charged with a drug offense is to mitigate the charges, get them thrown out, mitigate the penalties, or get the case thrown out of court.

Even a charge for a small amount of drugs may become the albatross that stuck around in a most unwelcome manner. Drug charges that stick and leave one with a criminal record of any kind will look really bad on an employment application. Even if the crime is not admitted to on the job application, if the position requires bonding of some sort, the lie will be discovered.

“People, meaning employers, are less tolerant these days of others who have a criminal record, even a minor one,” indicated Wannamaker. Really, why take the chance of having a charge stick when hiring a highly qualified criminal defense attorney may make the difference between having no criminal record and a job, and having a criminal record and no job?

“If you think this is a bit far fetched, employers avoiding those with criminal backgrounds, then ask this question – if it’s not a big deal, then why are more and more employers running background checks on potential new employees?” questioned Wannamaker.

The answer of course is because they cannot risk hiring someone who has a record to represent their company. It simply wouldn’t do if a crisis situation came up and that employee’s criminal record came to light. “This kind of a situation is called negligent hiring and it can bite someone in the pocketbook later when a lawsuit is filed,” added Wannamaker.

If faced with being charged for a drug offense, hire a top-notch criminal defense lawyer who knows what they are doing. Quality is the key word here when looking for a lawyer that knows their stuff. Quality is a bit like ordering oats. If you want them clean and fresh and top quality, you must pay a fair price.