New Jersey Rejects Bill to Clear Cannabis Convictions
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]M[/dropcap]any were hoping New Jersey would be the next state to clear past cannabis convictions, but the governor did not sign the legislation, and prior convictions won’t be cleared.
According to NewJersey.com, Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed the bill, S3205, and will not be working to expunge convictions. Murphy may have rejected the legislation, but he also offered some suggestions for how to improve it. He would like to see a task force to come up with a more technologically advanced plan to cleanly and efficiently clear records in the future. “I applaud the sponsors’ commitment to social justice and their efforts to correct historic wrongs inflicted on our communities by a criminal justice system that has, at times unfairly and harshly, punished individuals,” Murphy said in his veto statement. “I believe, however, that this bill could go further in order to more fully and effectively achieve its intended goals.
The governor referenced Pennsylvania in his talks about how to properly clear records, saying that there needs to be a system that automatically removes any charges that are 10 years old or older from access, only allowing law enforcement to reference the charges.
However, many still found this ruling disappointing, even though there is a silver lining. “The proposed changes would significantly lessen the number of individuals who would be eligible for expungement,” said Sen. Sandra Cunningham. “If expungement is a good step toward responsible citizenship, then we should be broadening the opportunity for people to expunge their records and to rejoin the workforce. There has to come a time when we understand the importance of permitting people to have a second chance.”
Even outside the U.S., people are looking into how they can clear past cannabis convictions. You can now apply for a pardon in Canada and here in the U.S., Michigan and Texas are just two of the unassuming states that have been working on clearing charges. Hopefully, New Jersey will join these ranks soon despite this setback.
