In response to the Sept. 24 article “NJ marijuana legalization could wipe weed arrests off your criminal record, racial and social justice advocates around New Jersey, including those in the New Solutions Marijuana Reform Coalition, have been calling for marijuana legalization legislation in New Jersey to include automatic and retroactive expungement.
However, it is important to note that neither the draft bill that has recently been circulated in the media nor the expedited expungement bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, D-Union, will guarantee automatic and retroactive expungement.
In its current form, the proposed marijuana legalization legislation only codifies existing expungement law and puts the onus for expungement on people with marijuana convictions, rather than our criminal justice system. And while Quijano’s bill goes a step further by creating a volunteer program for expungement within the Administrative Office of the Courts, it does nothing to defray costs and little to help applicants manage the cumbersome application process.