On Tuesday, Last Prisoner Project’s Policy Director, Gracie Burger, submitted written testimony on behalf of LPP to Rhode Island’s House Finance Committee on House Bill 7953, which is seeking to legalize adult-use marijuana. LPP’s testimony urged for amendments to House Bill 7953 to ensure the creation of an automatic record clearance process for past cannabis records. As it stands, House Bill 7953 only offers record clearance for past cannabis convictions if the individual petitions the court. This will fail to provide relief to the scale necessary to begin to repair the harms of Rhode Island’s war on drugs.

Click here to read the entire written testimony that was submitted on behalf of LPP to Rhode Island’s House Finance Committee. 

LPP recently joined a coalition of Rhode Island advocacy orgnizations in pushing legislators to amend the bill and add improved language around the expungement and sealing of past criminal records related to cannabis. 

“Without an automatic record clearance process, Rhode Island will continue to fail the very communities who bear the brunt of the war on drugs to this day,” said Gracie Burger, State Policy Director, Last Prisoner Project. “To begin to right the wrongs of prohibition and make legalization accessible to all residents, the onus must be on the government to remove these erroneous convictions from peoples’ records, so that they may begin to rebuild their lives.”

Your can read the full press release here.