RCMP

[Glenn]

re; Guest

Past drug use...

It will depend on a number of things.
1. Your age then and now.
2. What type of drug..pot, crack, herion..etc
3. Number of times
4. etc
Most police departments can overlook a small amount of pot use from years ago. Mainly if it was experimental, I am sure most of us at one time or another has tried pot.
For me it has been almost 20 years, I am 35 now and the last time I can remember was when I was 15. I did say maybe 16, not sure. Not older than 16 though. And I said about 6-8 times, maybe a couple of more, but I can recall these times. I said we are talking a long time ago so thats the best I can recall.

Now unless you are/was a heavy user of pot or selling it...well...
Now if you are lets say, early 20's, most will want some years to pass since you last done drugs..it will depend on the things above...
Now if you have done harder drugs, you may have a harder time with the security/background interviews.
So it depends on a number of things. The best is to be honest and tell the truth. They will let you know right away.
But if it is just pot, from years back (10) and small amount, you shouldn't have to worry about. Just tell them about it..

And thats my two cents...lol

G

[Cab]

Just a note on drug use:

The "3 year minimum" is incorrect. Some police depts. in Ontario (maybe elsewhere too) have a written policy of 3 years for pot and 10 years for hard drugs (dependent on amount and use history). However, I know for a fact, from RCMP recruiting's mouth, that there is no min or max for pot in the RCMP. It is based on age, lenght of time since last used, amount, attitude toward it, your life style at the time (i.e. were you studying a law enforcement program at college 10 years ago and tought that smoking pot would be fine, bye bye). The RCMP is stricter on hard drugs and most use of this will make you ineligible for a security clearance. Be honest at the interview though. Your background check may lead to this use, as well, just because you have made it past the checks and are in Depot, they will be doing the polygraph on cadets (some, not all) when the program gets up and fully running soon. Now this is not my opinion but information from a conversation with RCMP staffing. Getting discharged for an irregular appointment would not look good on the resume, especially when you sold your house and your family is looking forward to you graduating.

[journey2cps-redux]

I stand corrected ;D

Thanks Cab. I had CPS times in my head not RCMP, my bad

[ace13]

Hi Everyone...I stumbled across this forum almost a month ago and have been logging in each day and enjoying your posts, finally decided to register and take part. It is refreshing to see so many people with the same goals, and dreams and have the ability to share them in this kind of forum. I am in Nova Scotia and have written my RPAT Sept.11th, 02. Unfortuately did not get selected in Fall or spring and am now enthusiastically waiting for the opportunity to begin again (sept.03). I have taken prepartory steps to ensure this RPAT will score high enough to move forward through selection and look forward to the interview step most of all. Like so many of you have said, this is a dream of mine since I was 6 years old, now 30 married with kids, decided to make this career change to something I should have done years ago. I could not continue on without knowing if this was a possibility or not so I began the process of pursuing this dream October of 2001 to answer that question...I have answered it...nothing will stop me. Well, that is some of my story...look forward to hearing about more of yours.
Mountie2be...

[rebel2232]

Hi Ace13.

Thanks for sharing your story. All I can say is keep trying, don't give up!

[ace13]

Good luck guest a.k.a ace13 ... perhaps you should use mountie2be as your name because people might get our posts mixed up if you use the same nickname as me.



Keep trying and preparing ... never lose sight of your goal!

Ace13

[mountie2be]

Ace13...Thanks for the reply....I actually did try and use my login username "mountie2be" and obviously entered the wrong name when posting...this is my first forum and trying to figure it all out...hopefully this posts correctly.
Mountie2be

[ace13]

Your post came through correctly Mountie2be. This is a great forum, hopefully you read all the advice about the RPAT on the earlier pages of the forum. You probably read through my progress with the application process along with others.

The first thing you require when going through this process is patience, and I think you know what that's all about. After that, it's determination and hard work! Good luck!

Ace13

[Dragon]

Welcome Mountie2be,
I'm glad that you never gave up your dream of becoming a Mountie Just be positive and write the test again this fall, I'm sure you will do fine. My wife is going to write the exam again this fall too. I wrote in Nov 2002 and now waiting for the interview. We are from NB, not far from you, to good ol maritimes. ;D ;D ;D

Tim

[therecruit1]

Welcome mountie2be. Its a long and tedious process don't give up and say patient. This board is a great source of info and is sure to be of some help to you.

On Wed. I'll be doing a ride along.....its only been two months since I signed up for one.
Anyhow, I'm really looking forward to it and I'll let you folks know if anything exciting happens.

[mountie2be]

Hey Tim...thanks for the reply and words of encouragement...another Maritimer, cool. Hey, good luck on your interview and your wifes rewrite of the RPAT, perhaps one day we will all have a chance to communicate on a different forum....RCMP letterhead. Then I can change my login name to mountieIam. Here's hoping.

Recruit1...appreciate your reply as well. Good luck on your ride a long. I have been on a couple, 5 all together, 4 with the community policing officer doing routine patrols as well as some community P/R stuff....and also got out on a friday evening with highway patrol..a little faster pace. Overall, nothing really exciting happened but I learned a great deal. One bit of advice...ask questions...even if you know the answer or think you do...stay interested in what your partner is doing...they love to have an interested passenger and someone involved in their surroundings. I can guarantee you will get out again very soon...my mentor is calling me now to ask when I want to go out again.
I also joined the local RCMP Crime Prevention Association Sept.02 and have been quite active. This allows me to get to know alot of the members, their functions, what role a liason officer plays, etc..and also an excellent opportunity to work with the community. Very good volunteer experience for future interviews, resume's, etc...so if any of you have access to this type of volunteer organization and can swing one meeting a month I believe it will be worth its weight in gold.

All for now... ;D
Mountie2be

[Dragon]

Hello MountieIam ;D ;D ;D,
Thanks for wishing me luck on my interview, I hope that I soon will get the call for a date at least And hopefully we will meet someday as Cst's, would that be awesome or what Glad that your doing ride alongs, it's fun isn't it. I go out a few times each month when i got the time to and I love it. One of the RCMP members here works out alot with me and he really encourages me in this long recruiting process. Take care and keep looking up.

Tim

[Storm]

Holy Cow! Did I miss a pile of posts or what! This place just went nuts.

Welcome Mountie2be! it is always good to see people who are searching there dream out and capturing it.

As Ace13 said she is Mountie and proud of it. I feel the same way! I got word this morning I get my own car next block. You want to see a grin! All this talk about the grass being greener and apply everywhere if you want to play cop, in the end the paycheck is what matters. WHat the heck is all this? Apply where you think you will be happy. Not everywhere is perfect, wnyone who thinks that is nuts. But, don't ge into this job for a paycheck either. Plenty of jobs that give a good paycheck where I would not have to depend on that person being at my back in a dark house. Anyone who would do this job for a paycheck is nuts, a cop straps ona gun, body armor, OC spray, baton, and taser, and goes into places where no one else wants to.

All those who want to be Mounties, stick to our dream, follow your goals and never quit.

Storm

[DaveTO]

Storm, do you feel like you're 16 again, getting your own car?

[journey2cps-redux]

I love reading your posts Storm!! ;D I get an adrenaline kick just picturing your days....

Keep up the good work.

J2D