Online Expungement Clinics Help Coloradoans Clear Their Cannabis Records

Last June, Colorado’s Governor Jared Polis signed a bill giving him the power to pardon anyone who has been convicted of possessing less than two ounces of cannabis.

The news was celebrated by the cannabis community, but the details are hazy, confusing many when it come to the process for clearing their records.

This is why a group of advocates, attorneys and corporate sponsors is offering help to anyone who needs it, via a series of monthly online expungement clinics. The Color of Cannabis, a group organized to help promote social and economic justice as it relates to cannabis, manages the clinics.

The next one, to be held on Zoom, is scheduled for August 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. MT. It will include a presentation by a knowledgeable attorney who will describe the general process and explain which crimes can (or cannot) be expunged. The attorney will then set up one-on-one consultations with eligible participants.

“People of color have been targeted for cannabis use for decades by law enforcement, resulting in arrests and convictions that were wildly out of proportion to the general population,” said Sarah Woodson, the group’s leader. “I founded The Color of Cannabis to help provide a pathway for restorative economic and criminal justice to communities negatively impacted by the war on drugs,” she added. 

Sponsors of the clinics include the dispensary companies Lightshade, Native Roots, and The Terrapin Care Station, as well as Vicente Sederberg, LLC, a national law firm that specializes in cannabis law. 

“Lightshade is committed to supporting The Color of Cannabis’ expungement clinics to increase diversity and inclusion within Colorado’s cannabis industry. This effort is long overdue to level the playing field for People of Color who would like to participate in the legal cannabis industry but have been unjustly prosecuted because of the misguided war on drugs,” said Lisa Gee, Director of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility at Lightshade.

Lead image by Ilona Szentivanyi. Copyright: Benzinga.

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