The post Seattle Could Dismiss Over 1,000 Marijuana Convictions appeared first on High Times.
Earlier today, Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced that Seattle could dismiss over 1,000 marijuana convictions. The decision is the latest in the city’s attempts to minimize the negative effects of earlier cannabis prohibition laws.
Mayor Durkan’s Announcement
In a statement published by Durkan’s office this morning, she made clear her intentions. Working alongside City Attorney Pete Holmes, Durkan will ask the city’s municipal court to throw out marijuana convictions from cases prior to the state’s decision to legalize weed.
Durkan’s announcement does not actually accomplish that objective. But it is the first step.
From here, the Seattle Attorney’s Office will formally ask the city’s municipal court to throw out all misdemeanor marijuana possession charges prior to 2012. If the authorities comply with the request, the court could dismiss thousands of convictions.
Durkan explained that there were several reasons for her decision to spearhead this effort. For starters, it’s an attempt to more accurately reflect current laws. Since cannabis is legal in Washington, it does not make sense that some people would still have cannabis charges on their criminal records.
Beyond that, it’s also part of ongoing efforts led by key lawmakers and city officials to implement more progressive weed laws.
In 2003, Seattle voted to make the prosecution of marijuana charges one of the city’s lowest law enforcement priorities. Then, in 2010, when City Attorney Pete Holmes was first elected, the city began dismissing all marijuana possession cases. At the time, Holmes said he would stop prosecuting all weed possession cases.
Today’s announcement serves as the latest step in this process. By providing a way to throw out