California’s Marijuana Reform: Progress Made, But Challenges Persist for Black Communities -Black Voice News

As first authorized in November 2016, Proposition 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana in California, also provided individuals the freedom to petition the court for the reduction or dismissal of qualifying marijuana convictions. This was followed in January 2019 by AB 1793 that placed the onus for this process on the California Department of Justice to review cases that might  be eligible for cannabis resentencing  and notify prosecutors of their potential eligibility. Three years later, in January 2022, cases languished in the process waiting to be cleared. Blacks, the most impacted by America’s 50-year war on drugs, were also the ones most affected by delays in clearing or reducing eligible convictions. This is the story of what went wrong. Read it here.