California courts have sealed, resentenced or dismissed about 90 percent of eligible marijuana convictions for activity that was legalized under a 2016 voter-approved initiative, a new report from the state attorney general’s office shows.
As of April 6, the state’s judicial system has processed relief for 206,052 of out an estimated 227,650 cannabis cases that were identified as eligible following the passage of records reform legislation that the governor signed in 2018.
The new report, released last month by Attorney General Rob Bonta’s (D) office, shows that most counties across the state have made significant progress since being given the directive.
When voters approved Proposition 64 in 2016, it legalized marijuana possession, cultivation and sales, while providing an option for people with prior cannabis convictions to petition the courts for relief. Two years later, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed AB 1793, which created a process to automate clemency.
Then, the governor signed separate legislation, AB 1706, last year that built upon the state’s record sealing law by giving courts until March 1, 2023 to seal records for qualifying marijuana cases that weren’t challenged by July 1, 2020. The bill, which was sponsored by the attorney general’s wife, who serves in
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