California’s war on cannabis is still raging. AB 1706 will help end it.
Six years ago, California voters successfully demanded an end to our state’s racially-enforced war on cannabis by passing Proposition 64. Part of this measure provided that the records of legalized cannabis offenses should be removed from residents’ criminal histories. Despite having more than enough time and funding, our state has failed to meet this demand.
I understand all too well the toll the “War on Drugs” has had on Californians and their families. I served nearly ten years in prison for a nonviolent federal cannabis offense. Finally home in Sacramento, I now work at the
Last Prisoner Project (LPP) to ensure an end to the disastrous policy of cannabis criminalization.
Under current federal law, I have no opportunity to clear my record. But thousands of other Californians with state cannabis records do. In fact, they were told years ago by our government that their records would be cleared for them, as part of California’s distancing itself from its shameful history of prohibition. But their records have not been cleared.
Adequate guidance and oversight to ensure the process was completed correctly was not provided, so the local and state agencies who handle criminal records have not finished the job they were given. This is not your average missed deadline: it has real-world consequences, for real people like me. Now, LPP is sponsoring
Assembly Bill 1706 by Mia Bonta, which provides urgently needed improvements to our state’s current automatic record clearance process for cannabis offenses.
One in three adults in the U.S. has some type of criminal record. Even a minor record, such as a misdemeanor marijuana possession arrest (even one without a conviction!) can in effect be a life sentence to poverty. Having a criminal record is associated with significant barriers to employment, housing, education, good credit, public assistance, family reunification, and more. And those negative outcomes are associated with having more encounters with the legal system. So these collateral consequences aren’t just unfortunate for the individual--they have broad implications for our children, our schools, and our communities. When our neighbors are able to succeed, we all succeed--and when they’re held back, we all pay a price.
We have the opportunity--the
responsibility--to ensure that our state finally lives up to its overdue promise to remove erroneous cannabis records and allow individuals criminalized by prohibition to move on with their lives. I hope to see AB 1706 advance to Governor Newsom’s desk later this month. We’ve waited long enough.
Stephanie Shepard is Partnerships Manager at the Last Prisoner Project.
Since this was written, we are pleased to share that Gov. Newsome has signed AB 1706 into law. Read more
here.
