Minnesota is one of the most recent states to legalize cannabis use for adults over 21, and just over nine months after the state made the legislation official, state leaders have already finished expunging low-level cannabis convictions for thousands of residents.
According to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, criminal history records qualifying for expungement under the state’s Adult-Use Cannabis Act are no longer visible to the public on the Minnesota Criminal History System (CHS).
Nearly three months ahead of schedule, the state’s Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) expunged 57,780 records, while the state’s Judicial Branch determined that 213 records should not be expunged.
Minnesota Promptly Addresses Expungements Following Rec Reform
“We are pleased to be able to deliver on this legislative priority,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said. “Minnesotans will see changes to their records immediately and as additional expungements are made in the months and years ahead.”
Minnesota’s Adult-Use Cannabis Act went into effect on Aug. 1, 2023, fully decriminalizing cannabis and allowing for the possession, use and home cultivation of cannabis for adults over 21.
In addition to being legally allowed to use, possess or transport cannabis paraphernalia, the Adult-Use Cannabis Act allows of-age Minnesotans can possess up to two pounds of cannabis in a private residence, possess or transport up to eight grams of cannabis concentrates and edible cannabis products with a combined 800 mg of THC or less.
They may also cultivate up to eight cannabis plants, with no more than four mature, at a single residence so long as they are of age and plants are in an enclosed, locked space obscured from public view.
Since the legislation was enacted, the BCA has worked to identify all state records that qualify for automatic expungement. During that process, the BCA introduced …
Read More
Author: Keegan Williams / High Times
