That said lighten the charge up a bit if asked say something like, yeah I got caught with a joint in college, don't say I have a felony conviction. Talk to your lawyer and he will probably come up with an even better sounding explanation.
The fact that he got a felony conviction for a first offense suggests that it was more than just a joint (he says that the quantity in his possession would mean an 8 year minimum sentence). Looking at the federal sentencing guidelines (http://www.ussc.gov/Guidelines/2012_Guidelines/Manual_HTML/2...) and sentencing chart (http://www.ussc.gov/Guidelines/2011_Guidelines/Manual_PDF/Se...), it seems like he would have to have quite a large quantity of marijuana to get that much time for a first offense (e.g. 1 KG of marijuana on a first offense would only give you 6 months minimum).
The fact that he got a felony conviction for a first offense suggests that it was more than just a joint (he says that the quantity in his possession would mean an 8 year minimum sentence). Looking at the federal sentencing guidelines (http://www.ussc.gov/Guidelines/2012_Guidelines/Manual_HTML/2...) and sentencing chart (http://www.ussc.gov/Guidelines/2011_Guidelines/Manual_PDF/Se...), it seems like he would have to have quite a large quantity of marijuana to get that much time for a first offense (e.g. 1 KG of marijuana on a first offense would only give you 6 months minimum).