Expungement

Expungement is the judicial or administrative process by which a criminal record is erased, destroyed, or treated as though it never existed. Cannabis expungement statutes proliferated rapidly following 2018; as of 2023, NCSL counted 45 states plus D.C. and two territories with record-clearing laws potentially applicable to cannabis priors. Automatic-expungement states (no petition required) include Illinois (up to 30 g; 410 ILCS 705), New York (automatic sealing under MRTA and CPL § 160.50(3)(k)), New Jersey (CREAMMA 2021), Connecticut (Clean Slate for ≤4 oz possession, 2022), California (AB 1706/AB 1793), Virginia (misdemeanor marijuana), Colorado (SB 21-124 for ≤2 oz), Massachusetts, and Washington (vacatur). NORML's aggregate estimate is that more than 2.3 million cannabis-related expungements and sealings have been processed at state and local levels since 2018, with leading totals in Illinois (~800,000), New Jersey (~362,000), Virginia (~330,000), California (~200,000+), New York (~200,000+), and Missouri (~100,000). Expungement is legally distinct from sealing (next entry) and pardon; expungement typically confers the strongest post-conviction relief, though the specifics vary widely by jurisdiction. *→ See also: Sealing, Pardon, Clemency