It's Not Just San Francisco Clearing Cannabis Convictions
San Francisco isn’t the only city willing to wipe clean the records of those convicted of pot-related crimes.
District Attorney George Gascón says three different jurisdictions have approached his office for advice on how to make similar changes.
“Some people haven’t done the legal research [on the process],” he told Cheddar. “We started looking at this weeks ago.”
“The law says the petitioner has to hire an attorney, petition the court, have a court appearance...This is a tremendous burden on the community. We came to the determination we could do this ourselves, without anyone asking for it. We will save the communities hours of effort and funding.”
The San Francisco DA’s office said this week it would apply more lenient rules on marijuana possession to cases dating back to 1975. That means more than 3,000 misdemeanor sentences will be dismissed, and almost 5,000 felony convictions will be reviewed and possibly resentenced.
Gascón says it’s important the changes are applied retroactively.
“It makes no sense either morally or legally to have someone commit a crime December 31, 2017, in our case, and on January of 2018, that’s no longer a crime,” he said. “It makes no sense whatsoever. The whole idea of the war on marijuana around the nation is wrong-headed, and we need to move in a different direction.”
California became the largest state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana on January 1.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/other-cities-considering-following-san-franciscos-lead-in-clearing-marijuana-convictions).
Candace Mitchell Harris discusses her path from computer scientist to founder of beauty tech tool MYAVANA – and how it uses A.I. to analyze each person’s unique haircare needs.
Michael Harris, NYSE global head of capital markets shares what to expect from IPOs in 2024, including A.I. excitement and why interest rate cuts are always helpful.
Lacy Garcia, Founder & CEO of Willow, shares why women, traditionally underserved by fintech, are looking for trust and a personal relationship from their financial advisor.
Alexander Reed, CFA and CIO for Envisage Wealth, breaks down why he thinks rates could stay higher for longer and why real estate, utilities, and regional banks are sectors to avoid.
Big brands that have relied on TikTok videos to reach younger consumers do not appear to be panicking as they wait to see what happens. But they have started planning.
It's been 15 years since the last fatal crash of a U.S. airliner, but you wouldn't know that from a torrent of flight problems that made news in the last three months.
Abortion opponents want the high court to ratify a ruling from a conservative federal appeals court that would limit access to a medication called mifepristone, which was used in nearly two-thirds of abortions last year.
Annie Chechitelli, chief product officer at Turnitin, breaks down how students and teachers alike can learn from artificial intelligence – while still maintaining academic integrity.
