In the wake of the legalization of recreational marijuana in California, the city of San Francisco plans to eradicate and/or reduce thousands of weed-related convictions.
The office of California District Attorney George Gascon will be looking over 5,000 cases to consider reducing penalties of those convicted of marijuana-related felonies and completely tossing out 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions. The office plans to do collective overhauls of convictions given individual reviews are expensive and time-consuming.
A bill requiring all California district attorneys to follow in Gascon’s footsteps is being evaluated by California legislators. Recreational marijuana was legalized in the state on New Year’s Day.
A 2016 report claimed police arrest more citizens over marijuana than all violent crimes combined.
