Hello Forums..i live in Kansas. my situation is a little complex.
First of all.. I am 22 years old and several years ago i was diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic after i had a bad trip on a psychedelic drug called DOC.
so one day i was having a manic episode and i decided that i was going to walk/hitchhick to Colorado where i could be free from the harsh marijuana laws of Kansas. Before i left the house i took my mom's bottle of Hydrocodone pills. my plan was to overdose on them if i didn't make it to Colorado or something went wrong. to make a long short i didn't make it to Colorado, or even out of Wichita. I ended up walking around the city in a stupor, not realizing what i was doing or where i was going.
At one point, i suppose due to dehydration and exhaustion, i fell face down in the middle of the street in a neighborhood. Someone saw me fall and they called 911. The police, fire squad, and ambulance showed up. I can't remember too much of the dialogue but i know they asked me if i was ok. The police proceeded to search me and find the bottle of pills prescribed to my mom. i may have given them consent..i don't remember to be honest.
When they took me to jail they put me in a solitary holding cell. I feared for my life..i thought they were going to torture me, and i thought spiders were going to crawl out of the floor vents. i thought they were going to shut off all the lights and leave me there for the rest of my life. This gives you a sense of my mental state at the time. At one point a guard took me out of the cell to take my mugshot and fingerprint me. When he escorted me back to the cell i tried to escape..i was still under the impression i was going to be tortured.
Eventually they took me to another part of the jail to a larger cell that actually had a bed instead of a concrete slab.They gave me a green vest to put on that covered my most of my body. later on when i was out of jail i was told by a friend that i was on "suicide watch", that's why they gave me the vest..
So i was probably in jail for a day..i'm not really sure how long i was there. Long enough to have a meal but i only had one meal the whole time i was there so it probably wasn't longer than a day.
They eventually gave me my clothes back and told me that my case had been "whopped"...i'm still not exactly sure what that means to this day. They let me out of jail. i ended up being checked into a mental health facility shortly after i was released from jail because i was still extremely delusional. This was my 2nd time going to the mental hospital..or as they call it the Behavioral Health Center. it's a short term facility.
I did a Kansas Criminal History Check on myself after i was released from the mental health hospital. I had been CHARGED with Possession of Narcotics.All of this happened in 2012. Several days ago, only a couple days into the new year i was notified that i had a outstanding warrant and that i needed to come down to the city office and get a court date.
so i did that. i have a Notice To Appear in court later on this month. but i noticed on the paper that i was required to sign that the charge was reduced to Possession of Drug Paraphernalia instead of Possession of Narcotics. i guess i should be thankful for that, but i still feel like i'm being taken advantage of. I don't know if Possession of Paraphernalia could result in a felony but i really don't need anything on my record because i intend on going to school to be a nurse and i don't need a criminal record hindering me. also i should let you guys know that my only other criminal offense as an adult was a Misdemeanor for Possession of Marijuana and Paraphernalia. The marijuana ordeal was about 4 years ago. Thank you for taking the time to read this..i apologize for making this post so long..i didn't want to leave out any important details.
So i guess my questions are:
-Should i get a court appointed lawyer ? ( i don't have money to hire my own)
or
- Should i just plead guilty and consider myself getting off easy with the Paraphernalia charge instead of Narcotics
i'm really not too sure how the court system works. My last time in court ( marijuana offense) was several years ago, and i feel like i was taken advantage of then too. Any help will be appreciated !
First of all.. I am 22 years old and several years ago i was diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic after i had a bad trip on a psychedelic drug called DOC.
so one day i was having a manic episode and i decided that i was going to walk/hitchhick to Colorado where i could be free from the harsh marijuana laws of Kansas. Before i left the house i took my mom's bottle of Hydrocodone pills. my plan was to overdose on them if i didn't make it to Colorado or something went wrong. to make a long short i didn't make it to Colorado, or even out of Wichita. I ended up walking around the city in a stupor, not realizing what i was doing or where i was going.
At one point, i suppose due to dehydration and exhaustion, i fell face down in the middle of the street in a neighborhood. Someone saw me fall and they called 911. The police, fire squad, and ambulance showed up. I can't remember too much of the dialogue but i know they asked me if i was ok. The police proceeded to search me and find the bottle of pills prescribed to my mom. i may have given them consent..i don't remember to be honest.
When they took me to jail they put me in a solitary holding cell. I feared for my life..i thought they were going to torture me, and i thought spiders were going to crawl out of the floor vents. i thought they were going to shut off all the lights and leave me there for the rest of my life. This gives you a sense of my mental state at the time. At one point a guard took me out of the cell to take my mugshot and fingerprint me. When he escorted me back to the cell i tried to escape..i was still under the impression i was going to be tortured.
Eventually they took me to another part of the jail to a larger cell that actually had a bed instead of a concrete slab.They gave me a green vest to put on that covered my most of my body. later on when i was out of jail i was told by a friend that i was on "suicide watch", that's why they gave me the vest..
So i was probably in jail for a day..i'm not really sure how long i was there. Long enough to have a meal but i only had one meal the whole time i was there so it probably wasn't longer than a day.
They eventually gave me my clothes back and told me that my case had been "whopped"...i'm still not exactly sure what that means to this day. They let me out of jail. i ended up being checked into a mental health facility shortly after i was released from jail because i was still extremely delusional. This was my 2nd time going to the mental hospital..or as they call it the Behavioral Health Center. it's a short term facility.
I did a Kansas Criminal History Check on myself after i was released from the mental health hospital. I had been CHARGED with Possession of Narcotics.All of this happened in 2012. Several days ago, only a couple days into the new year i was notified that i had a outstanding warrant and that i needed to come down to the city office and get a court date.
so i did that. i have a Notice To Appear in court later on this month. but i noticed on the paper that i was required to sign that the charge was reduced to Possession of Drug Paraphernalia instead of Possession of Narcotics. i guess i should be thankful for that, but i still feel like i'm being taken advantage of. I don't know if Possession of Paraphernalia could result in a felony but i really don't need anything on my record because i intend on going to school to be a nurse and i don't need a criminal record hindering me. also i should let you guys know that my only other criminal offense as an adult was a Misdemeanor for Possession of Marijuana and Paraphernalia. The marijuana ordeal was about 4 years ago. Thank you for taking the time to read this..i apologize for making this post so long..i didn't want to leave out any important details.
So i guess my questions are:
-Should i get a court appointed lawyer ? ( i don't have money to hire my own)
or
- Should i just plead guilty and consider myself getting off easy with the Paraphernalia charge instead of Narcotics
i'm really not too sure how the court system works. My last time in court ( marijuana offense) was several years ago, and i feel like i was taken advantage of then too. Any help will be appreciated !