This week the Last Prisoner Project joined cannabis and criminal justice reform advocates in testifying in support of automatic expungement legislation.

Yesterday, the Last Prisoner Project, along with the Marijuana Policy Project, and other cannabis justice reform advocates testified in support of Maryland

While cannabis is now legalized in some form in a majority of states, the negative effects of a cannabis offense continue to impair the lives of millions of Americans. A cannabis offense can carry lifelong consequences that can impact an individual’s access to

There is, however, a

Part of this problem is lack of access to information. Many individuals may simply not realize they are eligible for expungement or sealing. The preliminary step of determining eligibility involves understanding a complicated state statute--a daunting task for those without formal legal training. Additionally, the cost of expungement is often prohibitively high for those who most need it. Beyond high court fees, many individuals with criminal records often lack the resources to hire an attorney. This means that even a simplified petition process is often still too complex and costly to achieve the goal of greater equity for those held back by previous marijuana offenses on their records.

Applications-based systems have proven largely ineffective, affording relief to few who need it. Additionally, these systems unfairly place the onus of removing a cannabis offense, and all of the associated stigma, on the individual rather than on the government which created that stigma and the undue burden of a criminal record. Ensuring broad eligibility for automatic expungement of cannabis offenses is a critical first step to repairing the societal harms of prohibition.