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Potential Disqualifiers for FOID Application


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I've got a few questions regarding the FOID application. I've read through the forums and found several threads asking similar questions, but have not been able to find answers that specifically apply to my concerns.

 

I've been an Illinois resident for most of my life, with the exception of two (non-consecutive) years that I lived in North Carolina. I just moved back to Illinois last spring, and now I need to finally get my FOID card, but I'm uneasy submitting the application. Lying on the FOID application is apparently a serious offense, and I don't want anything coming back on me because I misrepresented myself. Here are my concerns:

 

1) I was ineligible for a FOID card for 5 years, up until 2014, because my Freshman year of college ended with an involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold. Due to a significant personal tragedy immediately preceding my college enrollment, I was struggling with serious depression/anxiety issues. This was made worse by my attending college in a city roughly 1,000 miles from home (this was my first year spent in North Carolina). I was detained (I use this word since I got slapped in wrist/ankle/waist cuffs for this) as a "suicide risk." I had not actually attempted suicide, but I had told a family member that I had been struggling with depression and had been contemplating suicide. I made the mistake of sending this in an email, and they (the family member) pushed to have local relatives take me to the hospital. They showed the hospital staff the email, and I was immediately put on the 72-hour hold, and subsequently transferred to the psychiatric ward of a nearby hospital. At the end of that 72-hour period, I was declared to not be a risk to myself or others, and was released.

 

2) Since then, I have been seeing (semi-regularly) a GP and Psychiatrist to manage my issues. I am diagnosed as having ADHD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Bipolar Disorder. I disagree strongly with the Bipolar Disorder diagnosis (it was slapped on me by an under-qualified mental health diagnostician so that I could be prescribed medication to manage my issues), as I do not fully meet the requirements. I have never once in my life experienced a true manic episode, nor have I had any psychotic/delusional episodes. Since the involuntary hold in North Carolina, I have not been an in-patient in any mental health facility or a mental health ward in a healthcare institution.

 

3) Given my continued visits to a Psychiatrist, my diagnoses, and the medications I am prescribed to treat those issues (one for the ADHD, one for the MDD/BP) -- do I need to answer yes to the mental health question? I am an out-patient of mental health treatment, but I have never been declared to be a threat to myself or anyone else. Quite the opposite, actually, as I had several GPs/Psychs dismiss my claims of depression/suicidal idealization. I was told that I was over-exaggerating my issues, just seeking attention, not actually capable of doing it, not a legitimate threat to myself, etc etc. Literally had a doc tell me that I just needed to "stop overthinking things" because I didn't have it as bad as others.

 

4) In 2012, my family took me to speak to a Drug and Alcohol Abuse counselor because I smoked pot and they thought I was "addicted". The DAA counselor cleared me of having a substance abuse issue, and even told me that he himself had used marijuana in his early twenties and that my use was not any cause for concern.

 

5) In 2013, I voluntarily met with an Employee Health counselor provided by my employer, as I was again struggling with my depression/anxiety issues (this was before I started on the medications I am currently taking). I told her that I had been having suicidal thoughts, but was again told that I was either over-exaggerating or just looking for attention, and that I wasn't a legitimate threat to myself. Shortly after that, I began the process of voluntarily admitting myself to a local mental health facility, but backed out of it before signing any paperwork. It had been a rash decision, one that was not necessary. I was told during the admission interview that my issues were not considered serious enough to require in-patient treatment (DENIED for in-patient treatment), and could be handled on a bi-weekly out-patient basis. I instead opted to meet with a psychiatrist at my primary healthcare facility. At that point, I began the proper course of medication, and have not since had any issues. What started as bi-monthly appointments with the psych has turned into once or twice a year, at most, and are really only medication check-ups/refills.

 

Sorry, that was all long-winded. I just don't know where that line is drawn. I am not a threat to myself or others, and in-patient treatment has never been recommended or even suggested. Given the wording of the out-patient portion of the question ("AND a threat to self/others"), can I answer "no" to that question?

 

Final question:

 

Last August, I failed a pre-employment drug screen in Texas. I am a traveling contract employee, and take jobs all around the United States. Unfortunately, this facility required a second drug screen when I had arrived, and I had smoked marijuana a few days prior. The drug screen was in-facility and not sent off to a lab (I failed the initial dip test, and I denied my right to have it analyzed by a lab). The facility dropped my contract, and that was the end of that. If I mark "no" to having failed a drug test in the last year, will this come back to affect me? Should I just wait until this August to apply? This is the only drug test I've failed in the last 5 years, and I have no drug/alcohol related charges to my name. I have no criminal record, and the only thing on my record is a moving violation from 2011.

 

Again, sorry for rehashing old questions, but I've spent hours scouring the net for answers and have been unable to find anything.

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First Welcome to the IC Forums...........

 

And we all feel the frustrations of the FOID process and what you are trying to deal with.

That being said, imho MollyB and others may not be able to guess what a doctor or medical expert has deemed for you or might have put into a document, if anything.

These thing are li,e posted above, best asked of those doctors and/or professional legal help!

 

But......and his is just my own opinion based on the attempt to apply for a FOID card.......

Apply, it's only a few dollars unlike the CCL which is costly in classes and the application fees.

Then, IF you get denied/rejected you can follow the path of appeals and get the needed information to document what's needed to rebuttal said denial!

 

Trying to do stuff other than expunge records and such prior to applying would in my opinion be possibly a waste of time.

Reason is you're not sure what or if anything is there to keep you from getting a FOID!

Assume you will be ok based on YOUR own opinion of the facts and that YOU believe you're not a threat or a bad person.

I know this isn't the absolute answer you might be looking for, but you're the only person who can ask the doctors and make this decision now.

 

I'd think it would be hard to fight the fight before you apply, as there are many fights being won and a few being posted and talked about right here at IC.

 

Good Luck, again Welcome and be sure to keep us informed of your success or roadblocked you encounter.

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I've got a few questions regarding the FOID application. I've read through the forums and found several threads asking similar questions, but have not been able to find answers that specifically apply to my concerns.

 

 

 

1) I was ineligible for a FOID card for 5 years, up until 2014, because my Freshman year of college ended with an involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold. Due to a significant personal tragedy immediately preceding my college enrollment, I was struggling with serious depression/anxiety issues. This was made worse by my attending college in a city roughly 1,000 miles from home (this was my first year spent in North Carolina). I was detained (I use this word since I got slapped in wrist/ankle/waist cuffs for this) as a "suicide risk." I had not actually attempted suicide, but I had told a family member that I had been struggling with depression and had been contemplating suicide. I made the mistake of sending this in an email, and they (the family member) pushed to have local relatives take me to the hospital. They showed the hospital staff the email, and I was immediately put on the 72-hour hold, and subsequently transferred to the psychiatric ward of a nearby hospital. At the end of that 72-hour period, I was declared to not be a risk to myself or others, and was released.

 

 

Final question:

 

Last August, I failed a pre-employment drug screen in Texas. I am a traveling contract employee, and take jobs all around the United States. Unfortunately, this facility required a second drug screen when I had arrived, and I had smoked marijuana a few days prior. The drug screen was in-facility and not sent off to a lab (I failed the initial dip test, and I denied my right to have it analyzed by a lab). The facility dropped my contract, and that was the end of that. If I mark "no" to having failed a drug test in the last year, will this come back to affect me? Should I just wait until this August to apply? This is the only drug test I've failed in the last 5 years, and I have no drug/alcohol related charges to my name. I have no criminal record, and the only thing on my record is a moving violation from 2011.

 

Again, sorry for rehashing old questions, but I've spent hours scouring the net for answers and have been unable to find anything.

 

On your final question, the answer is yes you have within the past year (preceding the date of this application) used a controlled substance in violation of state or federal law by smoking pot. And yes, you have within the past year failed a drug test for a drug for which you did not have a prescription - smoking pot.

 

I would advise waiting until August.

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