Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
YES
Seth Blumenthal
Newton resident, lecturer on marijuana in American history at Boston University
The November ballot question to legalize marijuana passed with 54 percent of voters agreeing that cannabis prohibition did more harm than good. This change creates several opportunities for stakeholders in the cannabis industry and those advocating reform in drug policy.
Even local politicians who opposed decriminalization, medical marijuana, and Question 4 have sought opportunities to increase sales taxes and raise much-needed government revenue. However, as the laws shift to stop arresting people for marijuana possession and develop a cannabis market for large profits, a deep hypocrisy in our law remains.
People arrested for selling and possessing marijuana in the recent past, the same acts our lawmakers are currently working to protect, still carry this stigma on their record. Only expungement – a total erasure of the arrest or conviction records related to an offense that would today be deemed legal – can solve this obvious contradiction in our state's cannabis policy.
This is not a radical idea. After all, Massachusetts already has expungement procedures for people who have been arrested and served their sentence without other convictions. In addition, other states such as California included expungement in their own ballot initiatives legalizing marijuana.
For otherwise law-abiding citizens, this does not absolve criminals but instead acknowledges what voters decided last November: Marijuana prohibition was unjust. In fact, I would go further, as expungement should also include a discretionary component for individuals convicted of selling cannabis. If, through a careful process that requires a judge's discretion, it can be shown that people arrested in the past as low-level dealers with small quantities are otherwise law-abiding citizens, they too should be eligible to clear their record or have their sentences reduced when appropriate. This version of expungement would be a meaningful way to challenge historical inequalities. Just last October, the ACLU reported that blacks in Massachusetts were 7.1 times more likely to be arrested for selling drugs than whites.
Senate President Stan Rosenberg told several stakeholders recently that he wanted to make Massachusetts a gold standard for other states developing the complex regulatory apparatus to legalize marijuana. Only with a progressive approach to expungement is that possible.
NO
John J. Schlittler Jr.
Needham police chief
With the passage of Question 4, the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, last November, some are advocating for a move to expunge all past marijuana criminal infractions. I strongly believe that automatically expunging all marijuana records is not the right way to proceed for a number of reasons.
The argument that simple possession of marijuana leads to arrest, jail time, and other devastating consequences is contrary to what I have experienced over the course of my 20 years in law enforcement. In reality, prior to decriminalization, it was extremely rare to see anyone sent to jail for a single charge of "simple possession" of marijuana. Marijuana arrests were often the by-product of another crime. What this means is that an individual may have been arrested for a crime such as domestic assault, and over the course of the investigation, officers discovered marijuana. When this occurred, officers added the charge of marijuana to the initial complaint.
It was common for individuals who were arrested for marijuana distribution-related offenses, to plea that more serious offense down to a simple possession charge and to be placed on probation. Individuals who violated probation or committed subsequent acts were then subject to jail time, but not from a single possession charge.
In fact, a person in Massachusetts who was convicted as a first-time offender prior to the 2008 decriminalization of marijuana was automatically placed on probation. Upon the successful completion of probation, the case was dismissed and the record sealed.
In Massachusetts, there is already a process in place for individuals to have their drug possession offenses expunged on a case-by-case basis. This process, which has well-established guidelines, provides individuals with an appropriate means for those who want to clear their record in light of the law change.
Yes, like it or not, marijuana has been legalized in the Commonwealth. This does not negate the past violations of our laws that were in effect at the time an individual was convicted. It would be improper and irresponsible to expunge all marijuana records without first considering each case individually and the individual's past criminal history.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Should The State Expunge Past Marijuana Convictions From People's Criminal Records?
Author: Staff
Contact: 1-888-694-5623
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Boston Globe
Seth Blumenthal
Newton resident, lecturer on marijuana in American history at Boston University
The November ballot question to legalize marijuana passed with 54 percent of voters agreeing that cannabis prohibition did more harm than good. This change creates several opportunities for stakeholders in the cannabis industry and those advocating reform in drug policy.
Even local politicians who opposed decriminalization, medical marijuana, and Question 4 have sought opportunities to increase sales taxes and raise much-needed government revenue. However, as the laws shift to stop arresting people for marijuana possession and develop a cannabis market for large profits, a deep hypocrisy in our law remains.
People arrested for selling and possessing marijuana in the recent past, the same acts our lawmakers are currently working to protect, still carry this stigma on their record. Only expungement – a total erasure of the arrest or conviction records related to an offense that would today be deemed legal – can solve this obvious contradiction in our state's cannabis policy.
This is not a radical idea. After all, Massachusetts already has expungement procedures for people who have been arrested and served their sentence without other convictions. In addition, other states such as California included expungement in their own ballot initiatives legalizing marijuana.
For otherwise law-abiding citizens, this does not absolve criminals but instead acknowledges what voters decided last November: Marijuana prohibition was unjust. In fact, I would go further, as expungement should also include a discretionary component for individuals convicted of selling cannabis. If, through a careful process that requires a judge's discretion, it can be shown that people arrested in the past as low-level dealers with small quantities are otherwise law-abiding citizens, they too should be eligible to clear their record or have their sentences reduced when appropriate. This version of expungement would be a meaningful way to challenge historical inequalities. Just last October, the ACLU reported that blacks in Massachusetts were 7.1 times more likely to be arrested for selling drugs than whites.
Senate President Stan Rosenberg told several stakeholders recently that he wanted to make Massachusetts a gold standard for other states developing the complex regulatory apparatus to legalize marijuana. Only with a progressive approach to expungement is that possible.
NO
John J. Schlittler Jr.
Needham police chief
With the passage of Question 4, the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, last November, some are advocating for a move to expunge all past marijuana criminal infractions. I strongly believe that automatically expunging all marijuana records is not the right way to proceed for a number of reasons.
The argument that simple possession of marijuana leads to arrest, jail time, and other devastating consequences is contrary to what I have experienced over the course of my 20 years in law enforcement. In reality, prior to decriminalization, it was extremely rare to see anyone sent to jail for a single charge of "simple possession" of marijuana. Marijuana arrests were often the by-product of another crime. What this means is that an individual may have been arrested for a crime such as domestic assault, and over the course of the investigation, officers discovered marijuana. When this occurred, officers added the charge of marijuana to the initial complaint.
It was common for individuals who were arrested for marijuana distribution-related offenses, to plea that more serious offense down to a simple possession charge and to be placed on probation. Individuals who violated probation or committed subsequent acts were then subject to jail time, but not from a single possession charge.
In fact, a person in Massachusetts who was convicted as a first-time offender prior to the 2008 decriminalization of marijuana was automatically placed on probation. Upon the successful completion of probation, the case was dismissed and the record sealed.
In Massachusetts, there is already a process in place for individuals to have their drug possession offenses expunged on a case-by-case basis. This process, which has well-established guidelines, provides individuals with an appropriate means for those who want to clear their record in light of the law change.
Yes, like it or not, marijuana has been legalized in the Commonwealth. This does not negate the past violations of our laws that were in effect at the time an individual was convicted. It would be improper and irresponsible to expunge all marijuana records without first considering each case individually and the individual's past criminal history.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Should The State Expunge Past Marijuana Convictions From People's Criminal Records?
Author: Staff
Contact: 1-888-694-5623
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Boston Globe
