#criminalreform

Dallas County, Texas District Attorney John Creuzot will no longer prosecute low-level cannabis crimes for first-time offenders, he announced in a policy letter to the county's citizens. The letter also

Registered medical cannabis patients on parole or probation in New Mexico will not face penalties for using their recommended products, according to guidance from the state Corrections Department; however,

Vermont's Supreme Court ruled last week that the smell of burned or burning cannabis is not legal grounds for police to initiate a search, according to a Leafly news report. The American Civil Liberties

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters in a widely anticipated speech on Monday that he would push to legalize adult-use cannabis within a matter of months, The New York Times reports. The move is expected

An Illinois state Senate bill that would expunge low-level cannabis crimes has received new support, according to a WQAD 8 report. Illinois Senate Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D) has

A bill to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis has passed the Pennsylvania state House Judiciary Committee, CBS reports. The bill changes the penalties for those caught with under 30 grams of cannabis.

The judges overseeing the Seattle Municipal Court have signed an order setting out a process to vacate and remove cannabis misdemeanors from 1996 to the end of cannabis prosecutions, which happened in

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. dismissed more than 3,000 cases of cannabis possession and consumption in New York on Wednesday, CNN reports. The 3,042 cases dismissed dated back as far as

Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) signed a bill last week that will expunge or clear the records of citizens convicted of simple cannabis possession prior to 2015, which is when cannabis was decriminalized

Pennsylvania state Rep. Jake Wheatley plans to introduce a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis and expunge the records of people convicted of minor cannabis crimes, according to a report by the Pittsburgh

The Republican Party of Texas officially endorsed the decriminalization of cannabis last month in a surprising turn of events. Party leaders also called on the federal government to re-schedule cannabis

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York Police Department announced on Tuesday that the city will begin ticketing, not arresting, people who are caught consuming cannabis in public, according

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has told the city’s top police officials to stop arresting people for smoking cannabis and, instead, issue citations, CNN reports. The directive comes about a week after

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has given the Police Department 30 days to come up with a plan to end “unnecessary arrests” for cannabis, and city officials – including prosecutors – are working on

State’s attorneys in Vermont’s Chittenden and Windsor counties are moving forward with plans to expunge misdemeanor cannabis convictions with “Expungement Days” this month, Vermont Digger reports. In

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is open to reducing or eliminating sentences for low-level cannabis crimes, telling NorthJersey.com that his main motivation behind legalizing cannabis is not to raise revenues

Chittenden County, Vermont Attorney Sarah George is pursuing a plan to erase convictions for low-level cannabis crimes, according to a NECN report. George, the head prosecutor for the state’s most populous

Officials in Seattle, Washington have filed a motion in Seattle Municipal Court to vacate all convictions for misdemeanor cannabis possession for anyone arrested in the city – a total of 542 people. Mayor

The Royal College of Physicians, a professional organization in the United Kingdom which represents 26,000 medical professionals, have called for the legalization of cannabis, heroin, and cocaine saying

An Illinois House committee has advanced a measure that would allow individuals with a low-level cannabis or paraphernalia possession conviction to have the charge expunged, according to a WQAD report.