Oklahoma Activists Launch Bid for Expungement, Decriminalization
Mon / Sep 7th
Cannabis activists in Oklahoma are collecting signatures to put an expungement and decriminalization question on voters’ ballots this November.
Expungement is a legal process that removes criminal records from the eyes of the law. This is a valuable instrument for non-violent offenders dealing with harsh sentences for cannabis possession. Expungement stories and news are organized below:
Mon / Sep 7th
Cannabis activists in Oklahoma are collecting signatures to put an expungement and decriminalization question on voters’ ballots this November.
Wed / Aug 26th
Lawmakers in the Vermont Legislature are set to pass a measure that would automatically expunge cannabis possession convictions in the state.
Mon / Jun 29th
Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced the clearing of 2,735 low-level cannabis convictions last week.
Fri / Jun 19th
Nevada’s State Board of Pardons is moving to pardon thousands of people who were convicted of low-level cannabis offenses prior to legalization.
Wed / Jun 17th
Colorado lawmakers have approved legislation for social equity cannabis licensing and which gives the governor power to expunge low-level cannabis convictions from before the state legalized in 2012.
Thu / Jun 11th OPINION
Michael Thompson was arrested for selling cannabis in 1994; he was given a de-facto life sentence in prison and now COVID-19 is poised to upgrade that to a death sentence unless Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer does the right thing.
Fri / May 15th
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) vetoed a bill last week that would have blocked some cannabis convictions from public view.
Thu / May 7th
Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s joined in the 4/20 festivities this year — not as a marketing ploy, but to advocate for responsible and progressive cannabis reforms.
Wed / Apr 29th OPINION
COVID-19 is spreading through the U.S. prison system like wildfire and people who remain locked up on cannabis and nonviolent drug charges are being forced to face their mortality.
Wed / Apr 29th
Santa Clara County in California is set to expunge or reduce over 11,500 cannabis convictions this week.
Mon / Apr 13th
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has signed a bill into law that includes the decriminalization of cannabis possession and the sealing of light cannabis convictions in the state.
Tue / Feb 18th
Rhode Island lawmakers have proposed two bills to expunge criminal records related to the possession of cannabis and other controlled substances.
Fri / Feb 14th
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey has filed a motion to expunge some 66,000 cannabis-related convictions, including 62,000 felony convictions and 4,000 misdemeanors.
Tue / Jan 21st
Utah lawmakers will consider a bill that would allow cannabis patients to expunge low-level cannabis offenses and clarify patient/employee rights when it comes to the state’s new medical cannabis program.
Thu / Jan 2nd
As Illinois became the 11th state to legalize adult-use cannabis this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker also issued pardons for more than 11,000 cannabis convictions.
Wed / Jan 1st
Illinois’ adult-use cannabis market launches today, January 1, 2020. It is the first state-legal cannabis market resulting from action by lawmakers, not the voters.
Wed / Jan 1st
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has outlined a sweeping plan to end cannabis prohibition and address issues including social equity in the future industry and keeping major corporations out of the picture.
Mon / Dec 2nd
As the first piece of federal legislation that would end cannabis prohibition to make it through committee, the MORE Act deserves a closer look; unfortunately, the bill is expected to be dead on arrival if it ever reaches the Senate.
Fri / Nov 1st
Wisconsin lawmakers are pushing to decriminalize up to an ounce of cannabis and expunge criminal cannabis possession records for up to 28 grams. Their proposal would also ban police from vehicle searches based only on the smell of cannabis.
Tue / Oct 22nd
New Mexico’s adult-use legalization task force has handed in its final report to the governor; the report suggests low-level expungement policies and predicts up to $620 million in annual cannabis sales after five years.
Wed / Oct 16th
Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed an adult-use cannabis legalization bill that includes home cannabis cultivation, delivery, social-use, and expungement; the bill would also establish commercial micro-grow permits capped at $250 per year, with large-scale grows costing $10,000 annually with a $100,000 application fee.
Tue / Sep 10th
Nearly one full year after cannabis was legalized federally in Canada, only 77 people have applied to have cannabis charges expunged from their background and just 44 have been successfully pardoned.
Mon / Aug 19th
During a campaign rally last week, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said that he would issue a mass pardon for federal nonviolent cannabis offenses if he is elected president.
Wed / Aug 14th
A Manhattan judge has sealed hundreds of cannabis possession cases in the wake of a successful class action petition brought in part by the borough’s district attorney.
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