As California prepares for the legal recreational selling of marijuana to start on January 1, a provision in the new state law may overturn many drug convictions, saving thousands of people.
The state is providing second chances to people who’ve been charged with almost any crime associated with weed.
From infractions to misdemeanors, all the way to felonies, former convicted folks could have their records wiped or have their charges reduced, significantly.
California is providing second chances to people who’ve been charged with almost any crime associated with weed (stock)
From infractions to misdemeanors, to felonies, former convicted folks could have their records wiped or have their charges reduced, significantly (stock)
The move could potentially bring a plethora of employment opportunities to those who have been effected by harsh drug laws, especially low-income minorities.
‘We worked to help create a legalized and regulated process for legal marijuana, but we also wanted to make sure we could help – some way, somehow – repair the damages of marijuana prohibition,’ said Eunisses Hernandez, a policy coordinator at the Drug Policy Alliance, to the Washington Post.
In the past 10 years, there have been 500,000 arrest for marijuana offenses in California, reported the alliance.
‘We worked to help create a legalized and regulated process for legal marijuana, but we also wanted to make sure we could help – some way, somehow – repair the damages of marijuana prohibition,’ said Eunisses Hernandez, a policy coordinator at the Drug Policy Alliance
It is estimated that close to a million people have review-able convictions that could be reduced or overturned.
According to the California Judicial Council, at least 4,500 people have already filed petitions to have their sentences reduced or thrown out altogether.
613 applicants came from Riverside County, who had the highest number and another 365 applicants worked to have their juvenile convictions tossed.
Cases must be presented to court in order to have the charges lessened. Prosecutors can deny support of a reduction if someone has an additional felony on their record.
Old convictions would be reclassified to follow the guidelines of the new law, so if a person had an amount that would now be deemed as legal, their whole conviction could be tossed out.
Across the state, district attorneys notified those behind bars of the new law and informed them that they could be ultimately released from jail.
Prosecutors in San Diego searched for people with marijuana charges in the last three years and presented a list of petitions to judges in the area.
According to the California Judicial Council, at least 4,500 people have already filed petitions to have their sentences reduced or thrown out altogether (stock)
‘We absolutely didn’t want people to be in custody who shouldn’t be in custody,’ said Rachel Solov, chief of the collaborative courts division in the San Diego district attorney’s office.
They’ve handled nearly 600 reduction cases as of mid-December.
Many are unaware of the new provision to the law and don’t know they can have their record changed to reflect a reduction.
Omar Figueroa, a defense lawyer in Sebastopol, California, believed that the requirement to go to court hindered the poor
‘One of the projects we’re working on this year is to notify people that this is an option,’ said Bruce Margolin, a Los Angeles defense lawyer.
‘It’s a viable thing to do, obviously, because people are suffering with these felony convictions in so many aspects of their life.’
The sentiment was shared by Omar Figueroa, a defense lawyer in Sebastopol, California, who believed that the requirement to go to court hindered the poor.
‘That’s one of the criticisms, that a lot of people don’t have the time or energy or the access to public transportation to get to the courthouse,’ Figueroa said.
‘What I see is the people who have more means are the ones who are taking advantage of this, and the people who have more basic struggles in their everyday life, the last thing they’re thinking about is cleaning up their criminal history for their old marijuana convictions.’
Nine states currently have laws expunging or reducing convictions surrounding marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislature.
Maryland, Oregon and Vermont allow for marijuana convictions that aren’t crimes to be wiped from a criminal record.
After the legalization of pot, re-designation of marijuana crimes in California quickly went into work.