ST. PAUL, Minn. – The new recreational marijuana law does more than allow Minnesotans to use and grow the plant, it also gives a second chance to thousands of Minnesotans with low-level marijuana offenses on their record.
Sen. Lindsey Port of Burnsville said around 66,000 people will have low-level cannabis crimes expunged from their records.
“That is, in my eyes, the core part of the bill, and why I took this bill on in the Senate,” Port said. “We knew expungement needed to be sort of the heart and soul of this bill. There could be no legalization movement without expungement.”
Port said it could take a little time for all the records to be expunged. She said those with misdemeanor convictions on their record don’t need to do anything to get them expunged. It will happen automatically.
A new state board will consider felony marijuana convictions for expungement or re-sentencing.
