Michigan Likely the Next State to Expunge Marijuana Convictions
You hear about it on the news every night, just like they said you would if pot became legal.
"50 shot at botched pot deal."
"100 murdered in marijuana deal gone bad."
"Man sells wife for a gram of devil's lettuce."
"Stoner spends half hour in line at Taco Bell."
The last one may be true but this wave of crime that was supposed to come with Medical Marijuana never came. They sell it to anyone over 21 in places now and guess what Chicken Little? The sky isn't falling. It's one of the things keeping the economy going. Taxes going to Uncle Sam. Yada.
You may know someone who was arrested for possession of Marijuana. Seriously, the result of getting arrested for possession was worse than any effect marijuana could provide. Yet for years, people were arrested simply for possession of pot. Even worse, we paid for potheads to sit in jail!!! Now, those people could have it expunged from their record. 6 bills have made it through the legislature and made it to the Governors desk.
I don't do legal speak but it seems like common sense.
Lawmakers will create a process to streamline expungement of marijuana offenses if the activity that led to the conviction would have been legal under the recreational marijuana law.”
Putting IF in a law is so 2020.
Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders could soon have the pot conviction off their record... but will it really go away? Some people will always be able to see it.
The embarrassment, humiliation, money lost in court, legal costs, time lost with family, the setback in life and stigma will always be there. It will never REALLY be expunged.
Oh yeah, and it's still technically illegal to the feds even though a majority of states have approved some form of legal marijuana. Only 3 states still prohibit it completely.