The Hawaii legislature has approved a resolution calling on the governor to create a clemency program for people with prior marijuana convictions on their records.
The concurrent resolution from Rep. Jeanné Kapela (D) first passed the House earlier this month, sending it to the Senate where members adopted the measure on Monday.
It states that “the war on drugs has been found to be destructive and devastating to immigrant, indigenous, and low-income individuals, families, and communities,” and “the prosecution of cannabis offenses has deprived people of accessing higher education, housing, employment, individual liberty, and the right to vote.”
Further, the resolution notes that President Joe Biden issued a mass pardon last year for people who’ve committed federal cannabis possession offenses. And it says several states that have legalized marijuana have included provisions providing for expungements of prior cannabis convictions.
Gov. Josh Green (D) is being encouraged to work with The Last Prisoner Project (LPP) and Hawaii Innocence Project, advocacy groups that are “prepared to assist the Governor and Attorney General in facilitating a clemency program for people who have been prosecuted for cannabis related offenses.”
“Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State
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