medical question
 

I guess Ill get straight to it.

Im in high school and used to smoke marijuana maybe, once a week or even less. I have decided to give it up just over a month ago. (Please dont judge me for previous decisions, because as you can see I have set myself straight.) I just recently learned about the question on the medical exam where it asks if youve used drugs within the past 2 years. Now obviously I wont lie cause its a federal document and can bite me in the ass, but is there any repercussions to answering yes on that question other than a drug test? Or do I need to wait 2 years just so I can answer no to that question? As ive said, please dont judge me for past mistakes I realize it wasnt smart now.

Background info, I have never been in trouble with the law. not for drugs or anything for that matter. I will be a HS senior in the fall and would like to go on to do school to become a commercial pilot. I am just going to go for a class 3 medical to start with, because that should be all I should need for at least my first year of college and by then 2 years would have gone by. I have heard the class 3 is more lenient, but what should I expect?

Honestly, I would wait two years so you can answer "no".

The FAA will probably require some extensive (and expensive) substance abuse evaluation, and you might get denied a medical anyway. And that fact will be in your file for life.

Seriously...enjoy college for a couple years, then come back to aviation. That's the easy way to chalk up this lesson learned.

thats not the answer I wanted to hear, but I guess thats what it is. How exactly do they prosecute people who say they havn't done drugs within 2 years even though they have, and what is the penalty? (not that I will do this im just curious in the legal aspect.)

By the way what I wanted to do was go to college for aviation, so that suggestion is kind of out of the question. :(

That's what's called a "consequence." Consequences teach us lessons.

That you're trying to figure out how to avoid the consequence suggests that you haven't learned the lesson.

The Class 3 is more "lenient," but the questions are the same, I believe. The FAA keeps records forever (I just requested my FAA records and they had my original Student Pilot license/Class 3 from wayback).

Your options are below. Each have risks and consequences.
- Tell the truth, apply anyhow, and then explain to the FAA and the school you're applying to how you've been clean a whole month and have become a model citizen in that time.
- Wait 2 years, find something else to do during that time, and then pursue aviation. Expect that the question may come up with a longer timeline some day, btw.
- Lie. Pull your integrity circuit breaker and lie. As you're applying for your first and subsequent jobs, wonder if an old smoking buddy of yours who now is angry with you for something you've done (or he/she thinks you've done) is going to drop the dime on you. Or maybe he/she gets contacted for a future employee's background check. The good thing about this option is that next time you need to lie, it will be a lot easier.

Employers have a special kind of love for liars, btw.

Read the medical form, it lists the federal penalties for lying. 5 years/$250K or something like that I think. You probably wouldn't get the full penalty, but they have thrown pilots in jail for that (recently too).

Why don't you want people to judge you for your past actions?
Like Wuzzo says - consequences.
Can you recover? Sure - in time - probably.
But to ask others to just ignore your illegal activities just means that you are ashamed of them and you don't want others calling you out - also indicative of not really having learned your lessons.
Is that what you're going to tell your AME or interview panel at school or a job?
You have a hard road ahead of you if you want to be a commercial pilot, but people make mistakes and learn from them and go on to do great things. You can too, but you'll have to be honest with yourself and accept responsibility for your actions too.

USMCFLYR

If the world new what i did in high school. I wouldnt be aloud to operate a big wheel, let alone an airplane. Stop smoking pot! Get good grades. Stay out of trouble with the law. Enjoy life. Just dont be stupid about it. Flying requires responsibility. Smoking pot is illegal and irresponsible. nuff said.

I hope to see you sitting next to me in the cockpit someday. :)

Sport Pilot? Doesn't require a medical if you have a driver's license. Not sure if the drug question is still asked somewhere else in the Sport Pilot registration process. You might still be able to fly until your two year pot free time has elapsed.

Balloons, gliders, and sport pilots do not require medicals if I read CFR14 FAR 61.23 correctly. Gliders are in fact a great way to get into flying and learn things that are useful to powered flight without spending a ton of cash or having to obtain a medical.

The number of stupid things people do is inversely proportional to age. By the time you're 80 you will take every step with delicate care. Most people play rather recklessly with alcohol and recreational drugs when they are young. The problem is, airplane flight is dangerous and commercial flying is a public responsibility not to be taken lightly. That's what you are missing- you do not understand this and you think the no pot rule is just another rule put there to make life hard for people who love drugs. Not so- flying is a dangerous activity, and you need to be 100% straight to fly 100% of the time you are flying. Alcohol is ok only if it is had in reasonable moderation with minimum of 8 hours between use and operations. 10 is a much safer number. Some otherwise fine pilots have been in trouble with this issue, so who are we to think we can smoke dope and risk flying an airplane into the ground? If you have been straight for a month that's a start, but the rule on the class III medical application is put there to keep people who are recently straight from flying airplanes and they enforce it.

I think you're getting the wrong sense of character. Towards the beginning of the paragraph you seemed to be getting it right, but then you imply I don't understand the responsibility of flight. No I get it, and I wouldn't be starting the road to a drug free future if it wasn't for that. But from what I read on this forum and elsewhere, becoming a pilot isn't all its cracked up to be. The risk of no hiring, being furloughed, failing a medical, etc. combined now makes it seem like one of the worst things to do. At least thats the general consensus that I get. much is to be discovered still to see if the industry is at all plausible, or if I would be much better spending my time at a state university and getting a degree in a field that has jobs and job security.

My question to all of you who have come to, or will come to, this thread is this...Am I better off going to a state university, then pursuing ratings afterward at a non-university type setting? Do airlines look down on this? Is it at all practical? The time would allow me far more than 2 years so I would be able to actually mark down no to my question from the first post. Know any places near Madison/in Wisconsin/around the Chicago area?

Hopefully this post has helped change your opinions of me and, in my opinion, the misjudge of character.