San Francisco will retroactively apply California’s new marijuana legalization laws to prior convictions, expunging or reducing misdemeanors and felonies dating to 1975, the district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

Nearly 5,000 felony marijuana convictions will be reviewed, recalled and resentenced, and more than 3,000 misdemeanors that were sentenced prior to Proposition 64’s passage will be dismissed and sealed, Dist. Atty. George Gascón said. The move will clear people’s records of crimes that can be barriers to employment and housing.

San Francisco’s move could be the beginning of a larger movement to address old pot convictions, though it’s still far from clear how many other counties will follow the famously liberal city’s lead.

Proposition 64 legalizes, among other things, the possession and purchase of up to an ounce of marijuana and allows individuals to grow up to six plants for personal use. The measure also allows people convicted of marijuana possession crimes eliminated by Proposition 64 to petition the courts to have those convictions expunged from their records as long as the person does not pose a risk to public safety.

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They also can petition to have some crimes reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, including possession of more than an ounce of marijuana by a person who is 18 or older.

“While drug policy on the federal level is going backwards, San Francisco is once again taking the lead to undo the damage that this country’s disastrous, failed drug war has had on our nation and on communities of color in particular,” Gascón said in a statement. “Long ago we lost our ability to distinguish the dangerous from the nuisance, and it has broken our pocketbooks, the fabric of our communities, and we are no safer for it.”

About 75% of San Franciscans voted to legalize marijuana, the highest margin among all of California’s 58 counties. But only 23 petitions for Proposition 64 reduction, dismissal or expungement have been filed over the last year, the district attorney’s office said, adding that it does not have any active marijuana prosecutions.

As of September, 4,885 Californians have petitioned the courts to have marijuana convictions expunged or reclassified, but many people don’t know about the process, which can be difficult, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, which supported Proposition 64.

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“So instead of waiting for the community to take action, we’re taking action for the community,” Gascón said.

Gascón’s announcement came with special resonance in the city’s Castro District, a center of efforts to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes in California. One of the biggest advocates of medical marijuana, Dennis Peron, died Saturday at 72 after a battle with cancer; Peron was considered a central figure in promoting the use of marijuana for AIDS patients, and in 1991 he co-founded the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers’ Club, the first public marijuana dispensary in the country.

”God knows how many convictions Dennis had,” said San Francisco Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, who represents the Castro. Had Peron lived longer, “he’d have had many of his convictions expunged.”

Sheehy said Gascón’s plan takes the burden off those convicted of marijuana-related offenses to ask the court to review their case. “People recognize that this really is not a crime,” Sheehy said.

“I’m totally in favor of that,” Paul Greenbaum, 72, said of automatic expungement after he walked out of the Apothecarium, a medical and recreational cannabis dispensary in the Castro. “If it’s not a crime now, what’s the sense in continuing to stigmatize people?”

Greenbaum said he has been regularly smoking pot since he moved to San Francisco when he was 30 years old.

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said there is historical meaning in San Francisco taking this step.

The Castro “was so deeply impacted by the AIDS epidemic. So many people were getting sick and dying, and medical cannabis was a lifeline for many people living with AIDS — a way for people to help with the side effects of the medication, to help with nausea, to help improve their appetite,” Wiener said.

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Some noted that the district attorney’s move could help people with prior convictions improve their livelihoods.

Convictions “really can hold you back from getting a good job,” said Redding-area resident Tom Savasta, 32, adding that the move would help people “become more proactive members of society.”

A 2016 study by New Frontier Data, a data analytics firm focused on the cannabis industry, found “stark racial disparities in Califor­nia’s marijuana-related jail population.” Black, Latino and white people all consume and sell marijuana at similar rates, the research found, but black Californians are jailed for marijuana-only offenses at much higher rates — nearly one-quarter of people jailed for those offenses are black.

In a statement, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said San Francisco’s move provides “new hope and opportunities to Californians, primarily people of color, whose lives were long ago derailed by a costly, broken and racially discriminatory system of marijuana criminalization.”

Gascón said the disparities outlined in the study “weighed very heavily” in his decision to review people’s convictions.

“We know there were tremendous failures in the war on drugs, and we criminalized large sections of our community,” he told The Times. “The African American and Latino communities were the most harmed by this.”

The district attorney said he hopes other counties will follow in San Francisco’s footsteps. Some lawmakers have already started to pursue or support similar measures, including state Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), who has proposed legislation that would require criminal convictions for marijuana-related offenses to be automatically expunged, placing the burden on the courts.

Proposition 64 was opposed by many law enforcement groups in California, including the California Police Chiefs Assn., the California District Attorneys Assn., the California Narcotic Officers’ Assn., the California Peace Officers Assn. and the California State Sheriffs’ Assn. They expressed concern about the impact of legalization and question whether the state was prepared for all the implications the law would bring.

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In Colorado, where voters legalized pot, prosecutors have been reluctant to erase prior marijuana convictions, said Sam Kamin, professor of marijuana law and policy at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.

Often, defendants have pleaded guilty to a lesser crime, and prosecutors do not want to wipe their records clean when they may have committed more severe offenses than marijuana possession, Kamin said.

Eric Shevin, a Los Angeles defense attorney who specializes in marijuana law, said many people don’t know they can wipe out their convictions or can’t afford a lawyer to help with the process.

Shevin has already done a few hundred Proposition 64 petitions, which require preparing a motion and appearing in court several times. He said that process would go much more quickly with prosecutors taking the lead.

“District attorneys certainly have the right to research their own records and dismiss these cases on their own, en masse,” Shevin said. “I applaud this D.A. for taking the initiative, and I hope others will follow.”

Lin reported from San Francisco; Parvini and Chang from Los Angeles.

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

ron.lin@latimes.com

cindy.chang@latimes.com

UPDATES:

6:45 p.m.: This article was updated with a quote from Supervisor Jeff Sheehy.

4:40 p.m.: This article was updated with additional quotes and reaction.

3:40 p.m. This article was updated with quotes from locals and additional information from the district attorney.

2:55 p.m.: This article was updated with information from a study by New Frontier Data.

This article was originally published at 1:55 p.m.</s>With Marijuana Legal In California, San Francisco Is Dismissing Thousands Of Convictions

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced Wednesday that his office will dismiss thousands of marijuana-related convictions dating back to 1975. This is in response to California legalizing recreational marijuana this year.</s>The city of San Francisco plans to retroactively apply California’s current marijuana legalization laws to past criminal cases dating back decades, the district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

The new policy will apply Proposition 64 to nearly 5,000 felony marijuana convictions and more than 3,000 misdemeanors dating as far back as 1975, District Attorney George Gascón said.

WITH NEW YEAR, CALIFORNIA'S RECREATIONAL POT LAWS TAKE EFFECT

“While drug policy on the federal level is going backwards, San Francisco is once again taking the lead to undo the damage that this country’s disastrous, failed drug war has had on our nation and on communities of color in particular,” the district attorney said of the plan.

The thousands of felony convictions in the state for pot use will be reviewed, recalled and resentenced, and the misdemeanors will be dismissed and sealed, Gascón said.

While California was the first state to allow marijuana use for medicinal purposes, Proposition 64 — which became law in 2016 and allowed for legal pot sales in 2018 — allows adults 21 or older to legally use and grow cannabis, in addition to possessing up to one ounce of it.

Criminal convictions “can be a barrier to employment, housing and other benefits,” Gascón said.

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said he hopes the policy will help alleviate the burden of the convictions to “primarily people of color, whose lives were long ago derailed by a costly, broken and racially discriminatory system.”

More than two million people were arrested in California between 1915 and 2016 for marijuana, but, according to the DA’s office, only 4,885 residents have filed petitions to have their convictions reduced or removed.</s>District Attorney George Gascón said Wednesday that San Francisco will immediately dismiss all marijuana misdemeanor convictions dating to 1975 and will wipe arrest records clean for anyone who faced such charges. The city also plans to review all marijuana felonies recorded during the same time period and, in appropriate cases, resentence them to misdemeanor offenses.

“We want to address the wrongs that were caused by the failures of the war on drugs for many years in this country and begin to fix some of the harm that was done not only to the entire nation but specifically to communities of color,” Gascón said at a news conference Wednesday.

The decision stems from a lesser-known provision in California law that legalized recreational marijuana, language that offers a second chance to people convicted of marijuana crimes in the state. The new law allows people with misdemeanor marijuana records to have them expunged and those with felony convictions the opportunity to have them reduced, pending a review.

But it does not happen automatically: A person convicted of a marijuana crime must petition a court to have his or her record changed. At least 4,500 people have petitioned to have their convictions changed since the provision went into effect in November 2016, upon passage. But lawyers and others say that the change has not been well publicized and that the requirement to petition a court makes it difficult for low-income state residents to have their records changed.

That, Gascón and others in San Francisco said, is part of the reason he is automatically changing or reviewing convictions.

“There are thousands of cases that are going to be dismissed at no cost,” said San Francisco supervisor Malia Cohen.

Gascón estimates that just more than 3,000 misdemeanors will be automatically dismissed. Nearly 5,000 felonies will be reviewed and, if appropriate, resentenced to misdemeanors. Prosecutors can decide not to support a reduction should the person have a major felony, such as murder, on their record. Old convictions will be reclassified under the law as it reads now. For example, if someone had been convicted of possessing an ounce or less of marijuana, that conviction would be tossed out because that is now legal under California law.

The Drug Policy Alliance said there have been 500,000 arrests for marijuana offenses in California in the past 10 years, and it estimates that up to a million people have reviewable convictions on their records.</s>Prosecutors in San Francisco will throw out thousands of marijuana-related convictions of residents dating back to 1975.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said Wednesday that his office will dismiss and seal 3,038 misdemeanor convictions dating back before the state's legalization of marijuana went into effect, with no action necessary from those who were convicted.

Prosecutors will also review up to 4,940 felony convictions and consider reducing them to misdemeanors.

Petitioning to have a record expunged has been in place, but can be costly and it can require legal help, Gascón said in a statement. He said only 23 petitions were filed this past year in the city.

"A criminal conviction can be a barrier to employment, housing and other benefits, so instead of waiting for the community to take action, we're taking action for the community," he added.

Gascón's office also noted racial discrepancies in marijuana arrests and sentencing. In 2000, African-Americans were 7.8 percent of San Francisco's population but comprised 41 percent of marijuana arrests. By 2010 and 2011, African-Americans made up about half of the marijuana-related arrests, yet represented only 6 percent of the city's population, according to the district attorney's office.

In his statement, Gascón said San Francisco was "taking the lead to undo the damage that this country's disastrous, failed drug war has had on our nation and on communities of color in particular."

Stores in California began selling recreational marijuana to adults legally at the beginning of this year after voters approved Proposition 64, in November 2016.

Nine states and Washington, D.C. have legalized the recreational use of marijuana --and 29 states and D.C. have laws allowing "comprehensive" legal medical marijuana programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

At least nine states also have laws "addressing expungement" of some types of marijuana convictions, the group says.</s>Since California legalized recreational marijuana earlier this month, a number of interesting questions have been raised. Things like, “Where can people consume marijuana (not at Coachella)?” Or, “What does the state do about banks unwilling to work with (perfectly legal) drug money?” However, the most important question was one raised by criminal justice activists, who were highlighting concerns with people already possessing criminal convictions thanks to the now-legalized drug. “What about them?”

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, their city “will retroactively apply California’s marijuana-legalization laws to past criminal cases… expunging or reducing misdemeanor and felony convictions going back decades.” The move will benefit thousands who have been burdened with criminal records due to past convictions and have seen employment opportunities or access to government benefits affected by said records.

San Francisco is taking a proactive approach by enacting this measure. Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana use for those 21 and over, included a provision that allowed “those with past marijuana convictions that would have been lesser crimes — or no crime at all — under Prop. 64 to petition a court to recall or dismiss their cases.” Instead, San Francisco will review cases and wipe them from the books entirely, saving would-be petitioners from a potentially time consuming and expensive process. District Attorney George Gascón said that more than 3,000 misdemeanor convictions dating back to 1975 would be immediately dismissed, while felony charges, like possession of more than one ounce, would potentially be re-sentenced.</s>San Francisco will review and possibly expunge or reduce thousands of misdemeanor and felony marijuana cases.

District Attorney George Gascón said the city will retroactively apply California’s marijuana-legalization laws to past criminal cases, reported the .

The upshot: the city will dismiss more than 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions in the city dating as far back as 1975 and review nearly 5,000 felony cases for possible action.

Medical marijuana has been legal in California for two decades, accounting for roughly $2 billion in annual sales.

California voted to legalize adult-use cannabis sales in 2016 by passing Proposition 64. The recreational use of marijuana in California is now allowed for those 21 and older and are permitted the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis. However, actual legal recreational weed sales were on hold until January 2018 while state lawmakers decided on the regulatory framework for the new legal market.

The new law also allows anyone with a marijuana conviction that wouldn’t have resulted in a crime (or a lesser one) under Prop. 64 to petition the court to dismiss the case. The district attorney decided to have prosecutors handle this all at once.</s>
• San Francisco plans to expunge thousands of marijuana convictions now that the drug is fully legal in California.
• Anyone with a misdemeanor marijuana conviction will have their record wiped clean. The city will also review nearly 5,000 felony cases for possible action.
• Californians voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2016.

San Francisco will review and possibly expunge or reduce thousands of misdemeanor and felony marijuana cases.

District Attorney George Gascón said the city will retroactively apply California's marijuana-legalization laws to past criminal cases, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

The upshot: The city will dismiss more than 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions in the city dating as far back as 1975 and review nearly 5,000 felony cases for possible action.

Medical marijuana has been legal in California for two decades, accounting for roughly $2 billion in annual sales.

California voted to legalize adult-use cannabis sales in 2016 by passing Proposition 64. The recreational use of marijuana in California is now allowed for those 21 and older and are permitted the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis. However, actual legal recreational weed sales were on hold until January 2018 while state lawmakers decided on the regulatory framework for the new legal market.

The new law also allows anyone with a marijuana conviction that wouldn't have resulted in a crime (or a lesser one) under Prop. 64 to petition the court to dismiss the case. The district attorney decided to have prosecutors handle this all at once.</s>San Francisco will retroactively apply California’s new marijuana legalization laws to prior convictions, expunging or reducing misdemeanor and felony convictions dating back to 1975, the district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

The district attorney’s office will review, recall and resentence nearly 5,000 felony marijuana convictions, and dismiss and seal more than 3,000 misdemeanors that were sentenced prior to Proposition 64’s passage, District Attorney George Gascón said. The move will clear people’s records of crimes that can be barriers to employment and housing.

Proposition 64 legalizes, among other things, the possession and purchase of up to an ounce of marijuana and allows individuals to grow up to six plants for personal use. The measure also allows people convicted of marijuana possession crimes eliminated by Proposition 64 to petition the court to have those convictions expunged from their records as long as the person does not pose a risk to public safety.

They can also petition the court to reduce some crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor, including possession of more than an ounce of marijuana by a person who is 18 or older.</s>The city of San Francisco is taking a major step in rectifying the failed “war on drugs” that has disproportionately targeted black people. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced Wednesday (Jan. 31) that the city will be erasing thousands of marijuana convictions.

Gascón confirmed in a series of tweets, that the city plans to review, recall and resentence nearly 5,000 felony marijuana convictions, in addition to “dismissing and sealing” more than 3,000 misdemeanor sentences.

READ: Over 70 Partygoers In Georgia Arrested For Less Than $200 Worth Of Marijuana

The expungement was made possible under Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana in the state.

“Today’s announcement covers effectively all the marijuana convictions adjudicated in San Francisco’s courts since 1975. The #WarOnDrugs was a failure, it’s time we take action to undo the damage it has done,” Gascón tweeted.

He went on to explain that while Prop 64 makes expungement possible, a petition has to be filed in order to be eligible:

READ: More States Legalizing Marijuana Use Could Be A Sign Of Things To Come

Following the announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union applauded Gascón for upholding “the will of Californians who voted to legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana” and for “proactively” helping those with past weed convictions.

“A past marijuana-related conviction can be a lifelong barrier to housing, employment, or recovery, depending on what you look like, how much money you have, and where you are from,” ACLU Criminal Justice Director Ana Zamora said in a statement. “Although Proposition 64 provided a way for people to petition the court to get relief from past marijuana convictions, the process is not automatic and depends upon the person learning of their rights under the new law and initiating the court process.

“By committing to proactively review, resentence, and dismiss past marijuana convictions, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office has demonstrated its commitment to repairing some of the harm done by the twin failures of mass incarceration and the war on drugs both disproportionately affect young people, people of color, and people suffering from untreated mental illness.”
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announces the city will retroactively apply California's new marijuana laws to nearly 5,000 felony convictions, expunging or reducing misdemeanors and felonies dating to 1975.