Los Angeles Is Expunging 50,000 Marijuana-Related Convictions

Los Angeles County has partnered with Code for America to clear approximately 50,000 marijuana convictions. Eligible cases were identified using a specific algorithm. After San Francisco found success using the non-profit’s technology other areas of California are following suit.

When recreational marijuana legislation was passed in 2016, it included provisions to allow those previously convicted of marijuana possession charges to apply for to have those charges expunged The Hill reported.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said, “This collaboration will improve people’s lives by erasing the mistakes of their past and hopefully lead them on a path to a better future. Helping to clear that path by reducing or dismissing cannabis convictions can result in someone securing a job or benefitting from other programs that may have been unavailable to them in the past.”

Technology is helping identify the eligible cases in a much faster way.

Jennifer Pahlka of Code for America said, “When we do this right, we show that government can make good on its promises, especially for the hundreds of thousands who have been denied jobs, housing and other opportunities despite the passage of laws intended to provide relief.”