The Alaska Supreme Court will clear the records of about 750 cannabis convictions from a state database in a move to help protect past offenders from the negative impact of a criminal record for conduct that\u2019s no longer against the law. Under an order signed by the court\u2019s five justices in January, records of past marijuana offenses will be removed from Courtview, the state\u2019s online database of court cases, on May 1.<\/p>\n
The court\u2019s action continues the push to expunge convictions for cannabis-related offenses in states that have legalized marijuana in an attempt to mitigate the harms caused by years of cannabis prohibition and the War on Drugs<\/a>. The order applies to cases in which the defendant was at least 21 years old, and possession of up to one ounce of cannabis was the only charge.<\/p>\n Legislative attempts by lawmakers to remove cannabis convictions from Courtview have so far been unsuccessful, although bills are pending for the current legislative session. The action by the Supreme Court largely accomplishes the goal, but the new policy doesn\u2019t remove the records of cannabis-related convictions from all state databases. Attorney Jana Weltzin said the move is a positive development for cannabis policy reform efforts in Alaska.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re older than 21 and you violated simple marijuana possession\u2014meaning marijuana under an ounce\u2014and you had it on your person, and it\u2019s not connected with any other crime, then the Supreme Court of Alaska says we\u2019re removing those from Courtview,\u201d Weltzin told local media<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nancy Meade, general counsel for the Alaska Court System, said that the change originated with administrative staff and was considered by the justices through the Supreme Court\u2019s normal procedures.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven that (cannabis) has been legal for eight years, it appeared to the Supreme Court that this was an appropriate time not to have people, as I say, suffer the negative consequences that can stem from having your name posted on Courtview,\u201d Meade said in a statement<\/a> quoted by the Alaska Beacon<\/em>. \u201cBecause the conduct is considered legal right now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The decision by the Supreme Court<\/a> doesn\u2019t expunge past cannabis convictions from the state\u2019s criminal records, which are maintained by the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). Officials clarified that information on such convictions would still be available at courthouses for inspection by members of the public and through formal background checks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe court system isn\u2019t the official criminal record repository for the state of Alaska,\u201d Meade said.<\/p>\n Records of arrests and convictions can have an impact on the ability of past offenders to secure employment and housing. But past legislative efforts to remove cannabis conviction records from Courtview haven\u2019t been approved by lawmakers.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of folks in my district, they have these barriers that are put in place, and a simple rule change, policy change, legislation, could change it for their entire lives,\u201d said Republican state Rep. Stanley Wright.<\/p>\n Last year, the Alaska House of Representatives approved a bill to conceal cannabis convictions from Courtview and criminal background searches by a vote of 30-8. The state Senate, however, failed to pass the bill before the end of the 2022 legislative session. A similar bill to shield cannabis convictions was pre-filed for the 2023 session by Wright on January 19, less than two weeks before the Supreme Court\u2019s decision to remove the records from Courtview. Forrest Wolfe, Wright\u2019s chief of staff, said that shielding the records of cannabis convictions can help mitigate the exodus of working-age people in Alaska that has in part led to a labor shortage in the state.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about reducing barriers to entry, especially for employment,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cIn Alaska, we have a huge workforce shortage. If you were 21 years old or older, and it was some sort of a nonviolent crime, you were charged with and convicted of, now that cannabis is legal in the state, we don\u2019t think it should be reflected negatively on your record,\u201d Wolfe added.<\/p>\n Wright is reportedly considering whether his bill, which already has bipartisan support from three Democrats and two independent lawmakers, is still needed after the Supreme Court order to remove cannabis convictions from Courtview, while Democratic Sen. L\u00f6ki Tobin is reportedly considering introducing a similar bill. Unlike the Supreme Court\u2019s policy, which only covers court records, more comprehensive legislation could also protect information on cannabis convictions from being released through criminal background checks. If Wright\u2019s bill is passed, up to 8,500 past cannabis convictions could be affected and hidden from view, according to information from the DPS.<\/p>\n The Alaska Supreme Court has a history of handing down decisions that have protected the rights of cannabis users. In 1975, the court ruled that the right to privacy guaranteed in the Alaska Constitution protects the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana in private residences, effectively legalizing cannabis for personal use.<\/p>\n The post Alaska Courts Clear Past Cannabis Convictions From State Database<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Alaska Supreme Court will clear the records of about 750 cannabis convictions from a state database in a move to help protect past offenders from the negative impact of a criminal record for conduct that\u2019s no longer against the law. Under an order signed by the court\u2019s five justicesContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[403,16966,50,4312,8885,809,90,97],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62438"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62438"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62439,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62438\/revisions\/62439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Court\u2019s Order Doesn\u2019t Affect All Conviction Records<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: Alaska Courts Clear Past Cannabis Convictions From State Database<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"