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Freedom at Last

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]hen Proposition 64 was voted into law in November 2016, the ballot measure not only legalized recreational cannabis in California—it also allowed people to petition the courts to have cannabis convictions dismissed entirely, or reduced from felonies to misdemeanors, and misdemeanors to infractions.

So far, 680 convictions have been adjusted in San Diego County. About 4,000 other cases have been identified and are now in the process of being reviewed. However, that is not the full extent of it—cases prior to the early 2000s will probably require those convicted to come forward and seek petitions to have their records cleared. Per the district attorney’s office, a petition in San Diego can be filed, reviewed and adjudicated in as little as one week. A person seeking relief for employment or housing can have it done in as little as one day.

For those unaffected, it would be easy to write these numbers off as mere statistics and move on to the next story. However, these numbers represent real people, one of whom CULTURE spoke to about her experience. Andrea (whose last name is withheld for privacy), a 27-year-old college graduate and resident of San Diego, is the picture of an upstanding citizen. She did not have a criminal record, and had never been in any kind of trouble, when she was arrested in October of 2014 and charged with felony possession of cannabis for sale.

Andrea was convicted of a felony in May of 2016. “I fought my case all the way through what would be the first day of trial when the DA’s office offered an ultimatum; accept their deal or risk serving six years in federal prison should I not win in trial,” Andrea shared. “I accepted their offer, and I served my entire 120-day sentence with CPAC (ankle monitoring), however my probation has been reduced from felony probation to unsupervised misdemeanor probation, thanks to Prop. 64.” Andrea, who consumes cannabis medically to treat migraines, credits her attorney, Michael Cindrich, and the San Diego chapter of the cannabis advocacy group, Americans for Safe Access, for her new lease on life. “Cannabis has changed my life, and I will continue to be an advocate for the community,” she said. “Prop. 64 has reopened the doors, and I will forever be grateful for my second chance!”

While Andrea’s story has a positive ending, there are an untold number of victims of the campaign against cannabis who are not so lucky. To help them, a state law was introduced last month that would shift the burden to the court system. Assembly Bill 1793, introduced by Oakland Democrat Rob Bonta, would require eligible cannabis-related convictions to be automatically expunged or reduced.

“Cannabis has changed my life, and I will continue to be an advocate for the community. Prop. 64 has reopened the doors, and I will forever be grateful for my second chance!”

When asked how she felt about finally having this ordeal behind her, Andrea told CULTURE, “I can still remember the night in November when I sat anxiously refreshing my browser on my computer waiting for the results of the poll on Prop. 64. I knew what it would mean for my future if it was passed. With one click, I saw that green check mark appear over the state of California, I saw the dark cloud that lingered over me disappear. Although I was serving my CPAC sentence on that night and was unable to rejoice with the cannabis community, I was having my own celebration.”

 

 

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