Tighten your explanation a bit:
I was arrested for selling marijuana to a roommate in the dorms while a freshman at [Name of School] in 200?. This was an especially difficult period for me; my father/mother had committed suicide the year before and I was having a difficult time coping with his/her death and being on my own at college for the first time. This led to me making a very poor choice, one that I regretted then and continue to regret today.
I agreed to plead guilty, and was given N months of probation with no jail time. I successfully completed my probation in 200? without incident.
It was a well deserved wake up call, one that helped to set me back on course. I completed my degree at [Name of School] and have been working in IT ever since.
You don't need to explain that the roommate was working for the police. You don't need to offer information that you were regularly selling. You don't want to call it narcotics. You don't want to mention that you were facing 8 years in prison. You don't want to use the word habit (if you must "to support my use/consumption"). If they ask if you were selling lots, deflect (who knows what "lots" is... you weren't Scarface you were a troubled kid just trying to get by). If you also got community service you should also mention it (N months of probation and N hours of community service). If you did something special for your community service (eg. worked with disadvantaged kids) you could mention that (if you just picked up trash on the highway I wouldn't).
Practice saying the explanation and writing it. You want it to sound natural... especially as it's the truth. It's embarrassing but frankly even for a position requiring trust (eg. handling money) I don't see your conviction as a serious problem. Note that if you still smoke you should consider stopping (or getting a prescription) as some larger companies require drug tests.
I was arrested for selling marijuana to a roommate in the dorms while a freshman at [Name of School] in 200?. This was an especially difficult period for me; my father/mother had committed suicide the year before and I was having a difficult time coping with his/her death and being on my own at college for the first time. This led to me making a very poor choice, one that I regretted then and continue to regret today.
I agreed to plead guilty, and was given N months of probation with no jail time. I successfully completed my probation in 200? without incident.
It was a well deserved wake up call, one that helped to set me back on course. I completed my degree at [Name of School] and have been working in IT ever since.
You don't need to explain that the roommate was working for the police. You don't need to offer information that you were regularly selling. You don't want to call it narcotics. You don't want to mention that you were facing 8 years in prison. You don't want to use the word habit (if you must "to support my use/consumption"). If they ask if you were selling lots, deflect (who knows what "lots" is... you weren't Scarface you were a troubled kid just trying to get by). If you also got community service you should also mention it (N months of probation and N hours of community service). If you did something special for your community service (eg. worked with disadvantaged kids) you could mention that (if you just picked up trash on the highway I wouldn't).
Practice saying the explanation and writing it. You want it to sound natural... especially as it's the truth. It's embarrassing but frankly even for a position requiring trust (eg. handling money) I don't see your conviction as a serious problem. Note that if you still smoke you should consider stopping (or getting a prescription) as some larger companies require drug tests.