Having a cannabis related conviction on your record can lead to all kinds of issues. A cannabis conviction, or as I call it the ‘cannabis scarlet letter,’ can result in problems gaining employment, being approved for housing, obtaining student financial assistance, and a host of other potential issues. Long after the jail time, community service, and/or fines have been completed, the conviction is still on the individual’s record unless they go through an extensive (and potentially expensive) process to have it expunged from their record.
A Republican candidate for Washington State Senate wants to help low level cannabis offenders clear their cannabis convictions from their records. Sarina Forbes is a State Senate candidate in the 36th district in Washington. Per My Northwest:
Forbes says the bill would probably be modeled after a bill previously proposed by Democratic Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon and would essentially remove low-level marijuana crimes from people’s records.
To me, an amnesty bill in Washington State is a no-brainer. Washington voters legalized cannabis during the 2012 Election, and as of July 7th, cannabis sales are legal under Washington law. I get the fact that at the time of past convictions cannabis was illegal. However, to say that someone should still be in jail and/or still have a past cannabis conviction on their record for something that is perfectly legal now defies logical reasoning. The State of Washington, and every state for that matter, needs to do what’s right and remove past cannabis convictions from people’s records, and even better yet, take a new approach to their cannabis laws altogether.
