Drug Conviction in the Past

[Pappy Boyington]

I'm a 25 year old with great interest in starting a piloting career. Never applied for any certificate or license yet. Plan on starting out small at a local Flight school then progressing from there.
I have a couple of drug convictions on my record with the latest in April 2014... Misdemeanors for Marijuana. I was younger and dumb in the past. Cleaned up my act and kept it that way since.
Will my convictions prevent me approval from an Airman Medication Certification?

Thanks.

 

[vman]

https://www.aopa.org/advocacy/advocacy-briefs/frequently-asked-questions-about-sport-pilot

 

[eman1200]

drugs are bad. m'kay?

 

[Pappy Boyington]

Link removed

So I followed the link to the AOPA's Article of Airman Medical Certification which led me to read to 14 CFR 67.207(a)(4)(i) and 14 CFR 67.207(b)(1)
"§ 67.207 Mental.
Mental standards for a second-class airman medical certificate are:
(a) No established medical history or clinical diagnosis of any of the following:
(4) Substance dependence, except where there is established clinical evidence, satisfactory to the Federal Air Surgeon, of recovery, including sustained total abstinence from the substance(s) for not less than the preceding 2 years. As used in this section -
(i) “Substance” includes: Alcohol; other sedatives and hypnotics; anxiolytics; opioids; central nervous system stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamines, and similarly acting sympathomimetics; hallucinogens; phencyclidine or similarly acting arylcyclohexylamines; cannabis; inhalants; and other psychoactive drugs and chemicals;

(b) No substance abuse within the preceding 2 years defined as:
(1) Use of a substance in a situation in which that use was physically hazardous, if there has been at any other time an instance of the use of a substance also in a situation in which that use was physically hazardous;"

So basically, under this section, I cannot be declined a second-class airman medical certificate because of my last conviction back in April 2014. Boy, you really had me dig for that answer.

 

[Clip4]

Yes, with 2 years abstinace you can get a security clearance and work in the White House by just stating you quit. The FAA requires proof you quit and assurance you will not fall off the wagon.

 

[vman]

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/abuse_dep/

 

[Pappy Boyington]

Link removed

Yes, with 2 years abstinace you can get a security clearance and work in the White House by just stating you quit. The FAA requires proof you quit and assurance you will not fall off the wagon.

I noticed the "Drug Use - Past or Present - Diposition Table" that AME abide by when it comes to determining issuing or deferral of
Airman Medical Certificate which says that I need to notify the FAA of my conviction history and then afterwards have to attain an eligibility letter
which I need to give to an AME saying no monitoring is required. This isn't talking about Form 8500-8 from MedExpress, right?

How do I go about notifying the FAA of my conviction history and for them to determine if I get an eligibility letter for my case?

 

[Ravioli]

I don't think Pappy from from Black Sheep Squadron would find himself in your predicament.

But I'll give you some advice anyway. Get off the internet and call http://www.aeromedicaldoc.com/

Good luck.

 

[AuntPeggy]

I noticed the "Drug Use - Past or Present - Diposition Table" that AME abide by when it comes to determining issuing or deferral of
Airman Medical Certificate which says that I need to notify the FAA of my conviction history and then afterwards have to attain an eligibility letter
which I need to give to an AME saying no monitoring is required. This isn't talking about Form 8500-8 from MedExpress, right?

How do I go about notifying the FAA of my conviction history and for them to determine if I get an eligibility letter for my case?

What you looked at is an instruction for Medical Examiners. The best advice you have received at the moment is this one:

Get off the internet and call http://www.aeromedicaldoc.com/

So, here is how it goes.
1. Call Dr. Bruce at AeroMedicalDoc.com. He will advise you. Probably he will tell you the following...
2. Dr. Bruce will tell you how to notify FAA. Do not do it before he tells you to and do it in the way he says. Don't argue.
3. The years you have been "clean" or at least not caught do not count. What counts is supervised and provable abstinance.
4. Dr. Bruce will tell you how to get the proof of abstinance. It will probably entail at least 2 years of psychological monitoring. It will be expensive. Don't argue.
5. At some point Dr. Bruce will tell you to submit your application and what paperwork is needed. Do as he says. Don't argue. You might be able to get a medical at that time. You may never be hired by a US air carrier, though.

I know you think all this is unfair. Sorry. Independence decisions made by teenagers often have unexpected consequences in adulthood. Just be grateful you didn't get pregnant while in high school.

 

[vman]

I'm a 25 year old with great interest in starting a piloting career. Never applied for any certificate or license yet. Plan on starting out small at a local Flight school then progressing from there.

forget that plan

I have a couple of drug convictions on my record with the latest in April 2014... Misdemeanors for Marijuana. I was younger and dumb in the past. Cleaned up my act and kept it that way since.
Will my convictions prevent me approval from an Airman Medication Certification?

or sort this part out first

 

[ejensen]

If this isn't a very bad troll, then I wish you luck. But with what is said here you don't appear to have the necessary self-control but maybe you did have an awaking.

 

[Pappy Boyington]

If this isn't a very bad troll, then I wish you luck. But with what is said here you don't appear to have the necessary self-control but maybe you did have an awaking.

Just starting out fresh in this field.. not knowing much about aviation but only with advice from my childhood bud who started taking flight lessons at 17 and just became a Pilot for Southern Airways Express at 23.
Ive talked to my family for years about piloting yet they’ve pushed me away from it.

Recently, decided to embrace it and take action.

Been making calls around, including Dr. Bruce.
Determined to get passed this obstacle, will do whatever needs to be done and learned to overcome it.

 

[ejensen]

Just starting out fresh in this field.. not knowing much about aviation but only with advice from my childhood bud who started taking flight lessons at 17 and just became a Pilot for Southern Airways Express at 23.
Ive talked to my family for years about piloting yet they’ve pushed me away from it.

Recently, decided to embrace it and take action.

Been making calls around, including Dr. Bruce.
Determined to get passed this obstacle, will do whatever needs to be done and learned to overcome it.

Good for you. Hope you persevere. It will not be easy.

 

[Pappy Boyington]

Good for you. Hope you persevere. It will not be easy.

Thanks.. Just spoke to FAA's Aerospace Medical Certification Division in Oklahoma City and was told a majority of what needs to be done to get through this.
You are oh, so right. It won’t be easy nor quick either...

Won’t give up. It’s a passion to pursue.

 

[AuntPeggy]

Be sure you let us know when you make it.

 

[Pappy Boyington]

Be sure you let us know when you make it.

Good for you. Hope you persevere. It will not be easy.

So... new update on this story...
In February, I collected all documentation I could find on my conviction history and brought it to my AME appointment. He of course had to defer me because I had no clean record but after hearing out my persistence on this, he told me to write a letter about my juvenile past, the change-around of my behavior, and my plans for the future if to be a pilot. I spent hours that night writing this four page letter, putting emotion into it. The AME sent it off to FAA Medical Division in Oklahoma City along with all that documentation I collected. 2 weeks later, the FAA from Oklahoma City sent me a letter saying they wanted a couple extra documents from me, a revision of my letter with more details about certain events and a 5-panel drug test taken within 48 hours of receiving the letter with the results sent back to them. I did all of that, then they get back 2 months later with another letter stating they needed more details of events I didn’t manage to depict in the last revision and a copy of the drug test results because they didn’t receive it. I reply to them almost a month later. life happens. So the letter revised to 5-pages long.
Anyway, 7 months of communicating with the FAA later, I called them today to find out if they sent off a reply because I hadn’t heard from them for awhile.
The person on the phone told me they’re in the process of getting the eligibility letter for a First-class Airman Medical Certificate and the certification itself ready to mail off to me.

I was approved.

 

[TCABM]

So...

I was approved.

Congrats.