States have expunged or sealed more than 2.3 million marijuana records since 2018, with courts increasingly processing relief as more legalization laws are enacted, a newly updated analysis from NORML finds.
Looking at publicly available data, the advocacy organization’s estimate indicates that about half a million more cannabis cases were expunged in the past year alone.
That’s largely thanks to legislation that’s been implemented as part of state legalization efforts. NORML’s report says California, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Virginia have been especially active in facilitating expungements.
In those states, courts must proactively identify and clear records for certain low-level marijuana convictions. Other states such as Arizona and Massachusetts require people to individually petition courts for relief.
In Missouri alone, the state expunged more than 100,000 cannabis cases in 2023, even as some courts missed deadlines.
“Hundreds of thousands of Americans unduly carry the burden and stigma of a past conviction for behavior that most Americans, and a growing number of states, no longer consider to be a crime,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs
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