Marijuana Legalization and Record Clearing in 2022

Ohio State Legal Studies Research Paper No. 747

Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, December 2022

14 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2022

See all articles by Margaret Love

Margaret Love

Collateral Consequences Resource Center

Jana Hrdinova

Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law

Dexter Ridgway

Ohio State University (OSU)

Date Written: December 19, 2022

Abstract

In the spring of 2021, we reported on an “unprecedented period for policymaking at the intersection of marijuana legalization and criminal record reform,” with four states legalizing marijuana possession and providing criminal record relief for past convictions along with a variety of social equity provisions. This trend has continued into 2022 with four additional states (Connecticut, Maryland, Missouri, and Rhode Island) adopting similar record-clearing provisions in connection with adult-use cannabis legalization. All four states made at least some relief automatic, removing the burden of a criminal record from many individuals while raising the bar on standards for marijuana record relief nationwide. This report summarizes the cannabis-specific record sealing and expungement provisions enacted since publication of our earlier report in the spring of 2021 in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri and Rhode Island. Additionally, we provide a 50-state classification and description of marijuana-specific record clearing statutes.

Keywords: Marijuana and cannabis legalization, marijuana reform, record sealing, record expungement, record clearing, automatic expungement, petition-based record sealing, collateral consequences, criminal record, social equity

Suggested Citation

Love, Margaret and Hrdinova, Jana and Ridgway, Dexter, Marijuana Legalization and Record Clearing in 2022 (December 19, 2022). Ohio State Legal Studies Research Paper No. 747, Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, December 2022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4307003 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4307003

Margaret Love (Contact Author)

Collateral Consequences Resource Center

Jana Hrdinova

Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law

55 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

Dexter Ridgway

Ohio State University (OSU) ( email )

Blankenship Hall-2010
901 Woody Hayes Drive
Columbus, OH OH 43210
United States

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