Hawaii Governor Signs Bill To Speed Marijuana Record Expungements Process
From toxifillers.com with love
The governor of Hawaii has signed a bill to help speed the expungement process for people hoping to clear their records of past marijuana-related offenses.
About two weeks after the legislature passed the legislation from Rep. David Tarnas (D), it was given final approval by Gov. Josh Green (D) on Thursday.
The law aims to expedite expungements happening through a pilot program that was enacted last year.
As of mid-December of last year, the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (HCJDC) had reviewed 640 cases and issued 81 expungements under the pilot program, according to the advocacy group Last Prisoner Project (LPP), with 112 cases pending expungement and 414 cases still under review.
“LPP is proud that Hawai’i has chosen to bolster its first-ever state-initiated process for expungement by passing HB 132 and further expediting the process,” Adrian Rocha, director of policy for LPP, told Marijuana Moment, adding that the legislation represents “a significant victory for criminal justice reform, promising relief to thousands of Hawaiians shouldering the burden of outdated drug laws.”
“Expunging cannabis-related arrest records is not just about clearing data from government databases—it’s about removing barriers to employment, housing and other opportunities that so many individuals struggle with due to the collateral consequences of their records. The pilot project and HB 132 are part of a broader movement towards automatic expungement.”
“Expungement is more than a policy change—it’s a second chance for thousands of people who deserve to move forward with their lives, free from the stigma of a past that should no longer define them,” Rocha said.
LPP explained in an earlier post about HB 132 that a technical issue has made implementation of the expungement pilot program “more burdensome than expected.”
Specifically, records don’t “consistently specify” whether offenses are for marijuana or other Schedule V substances under state law, the post says. “This lack of detail forces HCJDC staff to manually search through arrest and court records, significantly slowing the process.”
HB 132 would address that by removing the distinction between marijuana and other Schedule V drugs for the purposes of the expungement program.
The governor approved the expungement pilot program legislation—HB 1595, also from Tarnas—last year. Its goal was to expunge non-conviction marijuana arrest records solely in Hawaii County, home to about 14 percent of the state’s population. The county comprises the Big Island and is the state’s second most populous after Honolulu County.
As originally introduced, the measure would have directed state officials to automatically expunge tens of thousands of arrest and conviction records for low-level marijuana possession. But the Senate Judiciary Committee later amended the proposal, replacing the statewide plan with a pilot program in Hawaii County that would apply only to non-conviction arrest records.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
Meanwhile, last week the Hawaii Senate gave approval to a medical marijuana bill that would, among other changes, allow healthcare providers to recommend cannabis to treat any condition they believe it would benefit.
Hawaii’s House of Representatives separately passed a measure last week that would create a two-year pilot program to support clinical research into psychedelic-assisted therapies, including substances such as psilocybin and MDMA.
However, both are likely heading to a conference committee after the opposite chambers submitted notices of disagreement this week.
Separately, the House Committee on Labor in January unanimously voted to advance legislation that would protect state-registered medical marijuana patients from discrimination in the workplace. That bill, HB 325, has not yet been taken up in the Senate.
This past fall, regulators solicited proposals to assess the state’s current medical marijuana program—and also sought to estimate demand for recreational sales if the state eventually moves forward with adult-use legalization. Some read the move as a sign the regulatory agency saw a need to prepare to the potential reform.
Hawaii was the first U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana through its legislature, passing a law in 2000.
Delaware House Passes Marijuana Bill To Address Dispute With FBI That Threatens To Delay Recreational Market Launch
Photo courtesy of Max Pixel.
The post Hawaii Governor Signs Bill To Speed Marijuana Record Expungements Process appeared first on Marijuana Moment.