TUCSON (KVOA) – If any Pima County resident has a marijuana conviction on their record they can now file a petition to have that permanently removed free of charge, directly from the Pima County Attorney’s Office (PCAO).
It is a move that has been in the works ever since Proposition 207, which legalized recreational marijuana, passed last year.
With marijuana now legal, if you were convicted on a minor charge you can now apply to have the conviction removed. The requirements are listed here.
The PCAO wants to make this a simple process for people, the form takes about a minute to fill out online.
“And then we’re doing all the work from there. To make sure the person qualifies, to make sure the prior fits the criteria, and then we’re prepping the motion and filing it,” said Laura Conover, Pima County Attorney.
Filing these cases officially began Monday morning. There were just over a dozen that were signed, but the attorney’s office expects these to start ramping up as more people are made aware of the option.
These prior convictions can prevent people from securing employment, housing and other life necessities.
“Drug records can be a huge burden for a lot of people. This is an important step giving people the opportunity to move on,” said Jack Chin, the head of PCAO’s Conviction & Sentencing Integrity Unit.
Conover said they realized that not everyone would know how or have the time to do this entire process on their own. So they put…
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TUCSON (KVOA) – If any Pima County resident has a marijuana conviction on their record they can now file a petition to have that permanently removed free of charge, directly from the Pima County Attorney’s Office (PCAO).
It is a move that has been in the works ever since Proposition 207, which legalized recreational marijuana, passed last year.
With marijuana now legal, if you were convicted on a minor charge you can now apply to have the conviction removed. The requirements are listed here.
The PCAO wants to make this a simple process for people, the form takes about a minute to fill out online.
“And then we’re doing all the work from there. To make sure the person qualifies, to make sure the prior fits the criteria, and then we’re prepping the motion and filing it,” said Laura Conover, Pima County Attorney.
Filing these cases officially began Monday morning. There were just over a dozen that were signed, but the attorney’s office expects these to start ramping up as more people are made aware of the option.
These prior convictions can prevent people from securing employment, housing and other life necessities.
“Drug records can be a huge burden for a lot of people. This is an important step giving people the opportunity to move on,” said Jack Chin, the head of PCAO’s Conviction & Sentencing Integrity Unit.
Conover said they realized that not everyone would know how or have the time to do this entire process on their own. So they put…
