By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
Colorado legalized cannabis after voters passed Amendment 64 in 2012, but there are still residents living under the weight of past convictions for marijuana offenses that are no longer illegal.
There were more than 10,000 people convicted of low-level cannabis crimes between 2001 and 2013, all of which are all eligible to be sealed.
People have been free to navigate the expungement process on their own under a law passed in 2017, though they have still been required to pay filing fees. But following an announcement from Mayor Michael Hancock’s office on Tuesday, Denver will now be taking an active role in helping people toss out their old low-level marijuana convictions.
The move is part of the city’s effort to not only vacate marijuana convictions but also assist communities who have been affected disproportionately by the war on drugs and help them benefit from cannabis legalization.
“For too long, the lives of low-income residents and those living in our communities of color have been negatively affected by low-level marijuana convictions,” said Hancock in a press release. “This is an injustice that needs to be corrected, and we are going to provide a pathway to move on from an era of marijuana prohibition that has impacted the lives of thousands of people.”
After the successful passage of a proposal by Hancock in August, Denver raised the adult-use cannabis tax to 5.5%. The new funds are expected to double the amount of affordable housing funding and help create more than 6,000 new units in the next five years.
“We need to better understand the obstacles, business conditions and regulatory hurdles preventing individuals from seeking employment or business ownership in the cannabis industry,” said Mayor Hancock. “We believe in equal opportunity for all, and that includes those working in the cannabis industry.”
Last week, the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office announced that they would be reviewing 4,000 cannabis possession cases from 2008 on as part of their Moving On From Marijuana program. The office plans on reviewing and clearing older cases as well.
