First Time Possession of Marijuana in Ohio

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Ohio

Ok so here's the story. A couple nights ago, I decided to get some marijuana off a friend (3.5 grams). When my friend went to his car to get it, a police officer drove by and most likely saw what was going to happen, because he later then pulled me over down the street. He pulled me over because he said I had a loud muffler. He then told me to roll my windows up and sit in the car and surprisingly he brought out the K9, he had the dog sniff around my car a couple times and then the officer asked me if I had smoked in the vehicle before. I was honest and told him I have, then he proceeded to ask me if I had anything in the vehicle that he should know about. I then just confessed and told him I had some marijuana in the center console. I gave it to him and then he came back and wrote me a ticket for possession of marijuana and excessive noise due to a loud muffler. I asked him if I was going to jail because of this (hey, I had no idea what to do, this was my first time ever getting caught). He then told me I wasn't and that this was pretty much just a traffic ticket. He told me that this shouldn't effect my job or anything school wise.

Today I called the police station/mayors court to find out how much my fines were and they told me that the fine for the marijuana charge was $240 and the loud muffler was $130, so all together i would be paying $370.

I was told by the lady on the phone that I could have gotten my license suspended if it was under state code but the box was checked for "city ordinance" so I won't be looking at any jail time or license suspension.

Now this happened on the 18th and the court date or when I have to pay the fine is for the 23rd. The lady on the phone told me that I could get an extension until possibly the 20th of November. She also said that they would have to add $10 if I received an extension.

My question is, will this be showing up on any background checks of some sort? I have researched on this forum that it will not and I have also heard that it will show up. I have about 1 more semester left in school and I will have to find an internship also for the degree I am currently pursuing. My main worries is will this effect my job search in any way? Also, does anyone know the details on requesting an extension for the fines? I have quite a clean record, only 2 points on my license due to a speeding ticket, and some other tickets for no front license plate and a noise violation due to my stereo system.

I think I would say I am pretty lucky because I guess it could have been worse but I really have learned my lesson and I do plan on quitting smoking marijuana after this incident. Can anyone give me advice?

Thanks.

Okay so heres an update, I came back from the Mayors Office today to request an extension... so now I don't have to pay fines or anything until November 20... should I try and get a lawyer? I really would like to do some other things instead of having this on my record... the problem is, I really don't have enough money for a lawyer.. I don't know how to go about this? I can do whatever it has to take if it means that I have to take a drug test every week, I'll do it... can someone please give me advice! I am so worried about losing my current job, because I recently was offered a promotion, and they had to get my background check, well it turns out that there was an issue with it so they had to send it back in today, which means that minor misdemeanor is most likely going to show, and I really don't want to lose my job over this...

Oh and also, I guess the citation was written under the city ordinance instead of the state ordinance, the lady at the office told me that if it was under the state, my license could have been suspended for 6 months.. She also informed me that since it is under city ordinance, it is a $240 fine, with no suspension.. I have no idea if this is good or bad, I guess it's good because my license is suspended but can someone please give me some advice!?

As aaron from this forum quoted..

"In Ohio, convictions for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th degree misdemeanors and any felony conviction will give you a criminal record.

CONVICTIONS FOR MINOR MISDEMEANORS (IE. PUBLIC INTOX, OPEN CONTAINER, POT POSSESION OF UNDER 100 GRAMS) DO NOT GIVE YOU A "CRIMINAL RECORD".

If you are convicted of a minor misdemeanor, you do not have to disclose that conviciton to an employer or graduate school. It's like a parking ticket. Only in rare circumstances would you want to expunge a minor misdemeanor (remember: minor misdemeanors do not give you a record in the first place). If you receive or think you will be receiving Federally subsidized student loan, you should expunge any minor misdemeanor pot possession conviction. New laws make you ineligible for these loans if you have any drug convictions!"


I've been hearing mixed stories about a minor misdemeanor showing up on a record... my possession of marijuana was listed as a minor misdemeanor and on top of that, the citation wasn't written under the state ordinance.. The lady at the mayors office asked if the box for city or state was checked, the city was... when I called in, I was not told of any license suspension or probation of some sort, just a fine of $240... I am really confused and can someone please help!