The review will go back to 1975
As part of the state of California’s legalization of recreational marijuana, people who have been convicted of marijuana offenses are now eligible to have their convictions either expunged or reduced. For those Californians with misdemeanor marijuana convictions, their criminal record could be cleared after petitioning the court. Anyone with a felony marijuana conviction could have it reduced to a misdemeanor if certain conditions are met. In addition, arrest records for marijuana offenses may be wiped clean as well.
However, as a drug defense lawyer Los Angeles, CA can explain, getting your record cleared or a felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor requires you to take action — filing a petition with the court in the county where you were convicted. This will likely result in many people of limited means not being able to take advantage of this provision in the new marijuana laws. In addition, many people are simply unaware that this possibility even exists — or may be overwhelmed by the possibility of going to a drug defense lawyer Los Angeles, CA and starting the process of having their criminal record cleared for a drug conviction that may be years or even decades old.
These realities are why the District Attorney of San Francisco, George Gascón, announced at the end of January that the city would be dismissing all misdemeanor marijuana convictions going back to 1975. In addition, the city will be wiping clean all arrest records for anyone who faced misdemeanor marijuana charges, and reviewing all marijuana felony convictions for the past 43 years to determine if any are eligible for reductions to misdemeanors. San Francisco is doing all of this automatically, without any action required on the part of the people affected — which means that thousands of people will potentially benefit without going through the timely and expensive process of petitioning the court. In fact, District Attorney Gascón estimates that over 3,000 misdemeanors convictions in San Francisco will be dismissed as a result of this review, and that over 5,000 felony convictions will be reviewed and resentenced if appropriate.
San Francisco’s decision to review all marijuana convictions made national news, and for good reason. It marks huge progress in stepping back the “war on drugs” that led to many people being unable to find steady employment, obtain student loans, or qualify for professional licenses. While San Francisco is currently the only city that has announced an automatic review and dismissal/reduction of marijuana convictions, if other cities follow suit, it could be tremendously helpful to all Californians with criminal records from past marijuana convictions.
The Chambers Law Firm is devoted to aggressively defending its clients from drug charges, and will also assist clients in petitioning courts to have marijuana convictions expunged or reduced. Contact our office today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
