The results of the 2022 midterm elections are in, and cannabis legalization measures passed in two states – Missouri and Maryland. In Missouri, Amendment 3 won approval with 53% of the vote, and in Maryland, Question 4 won approval with 66% of the vote. These wins reflect national trends surrounding cannabis and add to the growing tally of jurisdictions with legalized adult-use marijuana, now at 21 states.
In addition to legalizing cannabis, the initiatives in Missouri and Maryland both made tremendous progress by including forms of retroactive relief for individuals impacted by prohibition policies.
At LPP, we believe that justice is not achieved through simple legalization, but also through undoing the harms caused by prohibitionist policies. Legalization efforts should include retroactive relief through state-initiated resentencing and record clearance. Resentencing, which involves individuals still serving their sentence, can result in the reduction of a criminal sentence. Record clearance, which involves people who have finished their sentence, removes a specific event from an individual's criminal record.
LPP was encouraged to see that in both Missouri and Maryland, legalization includes provisions for resentencing and record clearance alike.
LPP was thrilled to see that both states will provide a government-initiated process for record clearance, prompting automatic expungement of low-level cannabis records. If implemented correctly, those policies will provide much-needed relief for thousands of individuals, without requiring them to apply with the state. With Rhode Island’s successful legalization effort earlier this year, all three states that legalized in 2022 did so with automatic record clearance. That is huge progress from the legalization efforts of just a few years ago, and evidence of a solid trend in the right direction.
While it is a huge win that both states offer processes for resentencing, neither initiative is government-initiated, unfortunately forcing the incarcerated individual to file a petition.
While the inclusion of these provisions is better than nothing, the policies need to go further. In both states, the policies need to expand eligibility and increase accessibility to offer true justice. Similarly, on the other side of this election’s legalization wins were legalization losses. The ballot initiatives to legalize cannabis in Arkansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota all failed, facing tough local opposition.
We are pleased to see legalization campaigns continue to trend in the direction of being accountable to the origins of prohibition by providing retroactive relief, rather than focusing solely on market potential. But, we also know there’s still a lot of work to be done in the name of cannabis justice, and we look forward to working with states to make sure it gets done.
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