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Minnesota Dispensaries Hosting Cannabis Expungement Clinics

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Medical cannabis dispensaries in Minnesota like Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc., a physician-led, science-focused cannabis company and IP incubator, are partnering with volunteer attorneys from St. Paul’s Mitchell Hamline School of Law to host expungement clinics to help people clear their records of nonviolent cannabis charges.

The first clinic was held last weekend at downtown Minneapolis’ Green Goods cannabis patient center from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Pre-registration was required to attend the event, and all participants needed to bring their case information and court records.

The event aims to reduce the harm caused by the ineffective and often racially biased “War on Drugs” and help more Minnesotans, especially people of color qualify for meaningful employment within the cannabis industry or other industries. In Minnesota alone, more than 53,000 people were convicted of low-level (misdemeanor or petty misdemeanor) cannabis-related charges between 1998-2018.

Petty misdemeanor and misdemeanor cannabis convictions can still show up on a criminal background check and negatively affect a person’s ability to get a job, qualify for a loan, or even rent a home.

“For decades, cannabis prohibition has been enforced unequally among people of different races and socioeconomic classes,” said Goodness Growth Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kyle Kingsley. “As cannabis is legalized in more and more states across the nation, there are far too many people whose lives are still being impacted by something that is decriminalized in most states, including Minnesota. Hosting expungement clinics such as this to help people clear simple cannabis charges is an important priority for our organization and a major step toward overcoming the injustices of cannabis prohibition.”

Minnesota’s laws allow for the expungement and vacating of some non-violent, simple cannabis convictions through a multi-step process.

At the Green Goods expungement event, attorneys met with interested people, reviewed their specific cases and determined if they are a candidate for expungement within Minnesota law. If they are, attorneys will provide step-by-step instructions and assistance gathering necessary records and filing paperwork needed to start the expungement process.

The Minneapolis expungement event is one of four similar clinics that Goodness Growth Holdings is hosting or supporting in September to recognize expungement month. The company is also hosting a virtual clinic out of its Green Goods dispensary in Frederick, Maryland, and is supporting clinics in Capitol Heights, Maryland, and New York City. Dispensaries across the US are hosting similar clinics.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey tweeted last Friday in support of the effort and said he was “glad to see the first expungement clinic starting in downtown.”

“We need to continue pressing for legalization and expungement under State law,” he wrote. “Until then, efforts like these are laying important groundwork.”

In May, the Democratic-led Minnesota House cast a historic vote to legalize marijuana for adults, but shortly after the vote, the bill died in the Republican-controlled Senate. It was the first time a broad cannabis legalization bill had been considered in either chamber of the state legislature.

The reforms are supported by Governor Tim Walz, who said in 2019 that he had directed all relevant state agencies to “put all of the building blocks in place” for legalization that would allow the state to implement the rules and regulations “the minute” the legislature approved the reforms.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Minnesota decriminalized cannabis possession in 1976, but also found that Black people in the state are 5.4 times more likely to be arrested on cannabis-related charges than white people. Currently, Minnesota allows medical marijuana, but prohibits smoking raw cannabis flower.

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use.