Readers of this blog should be familiar with the many consequences of a drug conviction. If you are convicted of a drug offense, you can be facing incarceration, fines and a stain on your criminal record. You can also lose your job, any professional licenses you might hold as well as your right to vote.

However, there is a consequence people often fail to recognize until they are back in handcuffs. A previous conviction for a drug offense means that you can be more likely to be suspected of a drug crime in the future. And you may have to stay behind bars while police investigate the case against you.

This is the very problem one Florida man had to deal with recently.

According to reports, police pulled the man over for failing to have his headlights on. During the stop, the officers evidently found a white powder in his car. He insisted it was dust from drywall.

Instead of believing the man, the police looked at his criminal record and saw that he had been convicted for drug crimes involving marijuana and cocaine. He was still on probation. With all this in mind, the police proceeded to arrest the man saying that they believed the white powder was cocaine.

It took 90 days for a lab to test the white powder, which came back as negative for cocaine. Unfortunately, the man had to stay in jail the whole time because of an alleged probation violation that made him ineligible for bond.

What we hope readers take away from this story is that even when you are innocent of an alleged crime, the police can treat you as though you are guilty if you have a criminal record.

Because of how significantly a criminal record can affect your rights in the future, it is important to take every criminal drug charge seriously and fight to avoid conviction. Working with an experienced criminal defense attorney can be an effective way to do this.