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).
Gene sequencing test maker Illumina Inc. said Sunday that its board has accepted the resignation of its CEO and director, Francis deSouza, effective immediately.
“Any consumer can tell you that online airline bookings are confusing enough," said William McGee, an aviation expert at the American Economic Liberties Project. "The last thing we need is to roll back an existing protection that provides effective transparency.”
Cheddar News checks in to see what to look out for Next Week on the Street as former president Donald Trump makes an appearance in federal court after being indicted. Investors will also keep an eye on the Federal Reserve meeting to see what comes out of that while earnings continue to pour in.
Google will launch its long-delayed News Showcase product this summer.
Walmart is expanding its HIV treatments, planning to add over 80 specialty facilities across nearly a dozen states by the end of the year.
The Internal Revenue Service said there are about $1.5 billion in unclaimed tax refunds dating back to 2019.
General Motors will allow its electric vehicles to use Tesla charging stations across the country.
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
Modelo Especial is now the top-selling beer in the United States, dethroning Bud Light after 22 years. In May, sales of Modelo Especial hit $333 million. That's up 15.6 percent from the same period last year.
Electric vehicles made by General Motors will be able to use much of Tesla's extensive charging network beginning early next year. In addition, GM will adopt Tesla's connector, the plug that links an electric vehicle to a charging station.
