A drug conviction can seriously affect your life. One nonviolent offense may affect your career aspirations, educational goals and overall reputation. You may be wondering if there is any way to wipe your criminal record clean so you can move on with your life.

Thanks to a new Missouri law, expunging your drug charges may be possible. Here is an explanation of how the new expungement rules may be able to help you and others who need a clean slate.

Drug crimes eligible for expungement

The law that is now in effect applies to a wide variety of nonviolent and nonsexual convictions. There are thousands of people like you who are dealing with the stigma of a public criminal record due to a minor drug crime. Even though you never did anything violent, you may find it difficult to find a job, get a place to live or obtain a car. Now you can have hope because of the new expungement rules. 

Shorter waiting period

Not only does the new expungement law include more offenses, but it also comes with a drastically shorter waiting period. If you have a misdemeanor, you only need to wait three years to get an expungement. On the other hand, if you have a felony conviction, you must wait seven years. Under the old law, you would have to wait 10 years for a misdemeanor and 20 years for a felony. This means you can get your life back on track after you pay your debt to society. 

Filing for expungement

You may have some questions about getting your record expunged. Thankfully, the process is pretty simple. You can get the form you need from the Missouri Court website. Once you fill it out, you can file it with the Circuit Court in the county where your arrest happened. 

Thankfully, cleaning up your drug conviction is possible.