If Minnesota legalizes weed, will marijuana-related criminal records be cleared? [View all]

[RandySF]

Minnesota may soon become the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana. The state House and Senate both approved different versions of the bill last week. If they can reach agreement on a singular bill, it'll head next to Gov. Tim Walz, who has already shared his support.

A key part of this legislation is how it would affect people with marijuana records whose crimes would no longer be considered crimes. Like in other states that have already fully legalized weed, Minnesota lawmakers are proposing ways for people to get marijuana offenses cleared.

This process is called expungement, or sealing records. Expunged records aren’t destroyed, but they’re removed from the public view and won’t appear in background checks.

A statute passed in 2015 known as the “Second Chance Act” gave Minnesotans the ability to petition for expungement for records of all kinds – a lengthy and often difficult process. What’s written in the recreational marijuana bill related to expungement would be added to the current law, with the intention to make sealing marijuana records a simpler process.




https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/05/01/if-minnesota-legalizes-weed-will-marijuana-related-criminal-records-be-cleared