In a sweeping move, the city of San Francisco is set to remove marijuana offenses from thousands of people who have been previously convicted of them. Advocacy groups have been asserting for years that marijuana offenses are discriminatory toward the poor and minority groups, and with California’s passing of legalized recreational cannabis on Jan 1, 2018, it’s time to reverse those harmful convictions.
According to MSN, “The district attorney said his office will dismiss and seal more than 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions in San Francisco dating back to 1975, and review and re-sentence thousands of felony marijuana cases.
The move will affect thousands of people whose marijuana convictions brand them with criminal histories that can hurt chances for finding jobs and obtaining some government benefits.
Proposition 64, which state voters passed in November 2016, legalized the recreational use of marijuana in California for those 21 and older and permitted the possession up to one ounce of cannabis. The legislation also allows those with past marijuana convictions that would have been lesser crimes — or no crime at all — under Prop. 64 to petition a court to recall or dismiss their cases.”
As the LA Times reported, District Attorney George Gascon is stepping up for those that have been so mistreated throughout the years of prohibition:
“While drug policy on the federal level is going backwards, San Francisco is once again taking the lead to undo the damage that this country’s disastrous, failed drug war has had on our nation and on communities of color in particular.”
What do you think? Should other major cities in recreationally legal states wipe the records of those with marijuana offenses?
Toke Tank 