Los Angeles removes over 58,000 cannabis convictions from popular records

Winning back the years behind bars is one of the most difficult tasks an individual can do. Unfortunately, too many people have been convicted of cannabis crimes in the past decade since the California ban. The truth is that many of these people will find it very difficult to get their lives back. Time lost is something that can never be regained. However, this sad reality doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t go forward and try to make the future a much better place than the past.

We all know California’s unfortunate past of massive incarceration of people for cannabis crimes. The good news right now is the fact that tens of thousands of people convicted of cannabis crimes in Los Angeles will soon be released from prison.

Nearly sixty thousand people convicted of cannabis crimes in Los Angeles are all charges dropped and cleared. That will bring the total number of overturned marijuana convictions in the state to around 124,000 since last year.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón confirmed the good news on Monday. He mentioned that his office had identified 58,000 cannabis convictions that needed to be dismissed. He also noted that this particular campaign combated the “injustices of drug laws” within the state.

Some of the cases to be dismissed include a significant percentage of allegations of wrongdoing for use and possession of the facility. Cases of criminal convictions for growing cannabis are also being dropped.

Progress long overdue

In 2016, California voters passed Proposition 64, which legalized the use of cannabis for adults (21 years and older). The legislation established a recreational cannabis market within the state. The goal of the cannabis market is to have, license, and regulate the manufacture, cultivation, and sale of marijuana.

That’s not all; the legislation also creates a structure for the state judicial system. And this structure enables the discharge, sealing and re-conviction of previous cannabis cases.

By 2018, California lawmakers had kept their promises. Mandate AB 1793 was passed which allows the state judiciary to go through records of cannabis convictions. Only convictions deemed legal under the new state’s recreational marijuana market can be dismissed.

One of the many names who led the long battle is Felicis Carbajal of the Social Impact Center and Los Angeles County’s District Attorney George Gascón. George Gascón is the co-author of Proposition 64, a stepping stone to what the cannabis community has achieved today. The Social Impact Center, also as a local non-profit organization, supported the district in identifying case groups.

After announcing the dismissal of 58,000 cannabis convictions, Felicis Carbajal, the executive director of the Social Impact Center, made some key remarks. In his opinion, the time to acquit old cannabis convictions was “long overdue”.

Carbajal spoke about the hard work and effort that had been put into making something this great come true. He was also very grateful for how far the fellowship had come. During his speech, Carbajal reiterated that it is a tragedy that people are sent to jail just for using cannabis. He hopes that by deleting these records, these people will have a better chance of their lives.

LA keeps its word

This wouldn’t be the first time Los Angeles County has cleared many people’s cannabis criminal records. Before Gascón hit the LA scene, prosecutors overturned 66,000 cannabis convictions under a different prosecutor. The demographic breakdown of cases rejected includes: 20% white, one third black and 50% Latino.

However, when Gascón came on stage, he was the perfect man for the job. Gascón was previously a prosecutor in San Francisco and has worked to overturn many people’s cannabis records. As a result, he fitted in perfectly and participated in the new achievement. According to the announcement, the total number of all rejected cases will now exceed 120,000. However, the demographics for these upcoming layoffs have not been provided.

This is because a person can have more than one marijuana conviction overturned. Therefore, the prosecution is not too hasty in giving the statistics about the events of the next week. For example, the 66,000 overturned convictions last year involved 53,000 people. According to CNN, California officials have evaluated more than 218,000 cannabis convictions across the state since 2018. And those convictions could eventually be overturned.

New Jersey and New York City, among others, review cannabis-related convictions

California isn’t the only state that reviews criminal records related to cannabis. Officials in Illinois and New Jersey have also overturned hundreds of thousands of cannabis-related convictions. In fact, New York City, which only legislated adult cannabis use in March, has also taken over the baton. Officials in New York are automatically overturning cannabis convictions before the new legislation that is now legal.

Some senators are also making efforts to legalize in-house cannabis nationwide. The proposed bill was put forward by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senator Cory Booker. The bill aims to legalize cannabis, remove it from the Controlled Substances Act, and overturn previous cannabis convictions.

The Senators included the cessation of nonviolent cannabis crimes at the federal level without notice in the proposed draft. If the bill is passed, many people who are in federal prisons for nonviolent cannabis crimes can seek re-convictions.

Final thoughts.

The state of California appears to be heading in the right direction after legalizing adult cannabis and medicinal cannabis. Today California has the largest cannabis market in the United States. According to Matt McGinley, an analyst who covers the cannabis industry, California has annual sales of approximately $ 4.6 billion. This makes the deletion, discharge, and sealing of previous cannabis convictions an important step.

Although cannabis is still illegal under federal law, about 18 states have legalized the herb for sale by adults. And about 36 states have legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes as well. Just last year, the US legal cannabis market hit an all-time high of $ 20 billion in sales. The industry is currently projected to reach $ 100 billion in annual sales by 2030.

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