January 1, Connecticut Clearing 44,000 Convictions in 2023

Thousands of Connecticut residents with “low-level cannabis convictions” will have their records cleared as of Jan. 1, 2023, Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT) announced.

Roughly 44,000 people convicted of possessing a small amount of marijuana will have their convictions erased from their records, including some from more than 30 years ago.

Lamont cited two reasons for the mass-expungement. The first: Connecticut legalized recreational marijuana in July 2021, allowing adults 21+ to carry 1.5 ounces on their person or five ounces in a locked container, locked glove compartment, or trunk.

“On January 1, thousands of people in Connecticut will have low-level cannabis convictions automatically erased due to the cannabis legalization bill we enacted last year,” Lamont said.

The second reason, Lamont said, is to help fill “hundreds of thousands” of open positions in the state’s job market.

“Especially as Connecticut employers seek to fill hundreds of thousands of job openings, an old conviction for low-level cannabis possession should not hold someone back from pursuing their career, housing, professional, and educational aspirations,” he said.

Connecticut currently ranks at #43 for “State Unemployment Rate,” with 4.3% of the work force unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

State officials said that residents will be cleared based on when their conviction occurred. According to the press release from the governor’s office, under the Clean Slate law:

• Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-279(c) for possession of under four ounces of a non-narcotic, non-hallucinogenic substance imposed between January 1, 2000, and September 30, 2015, will be automatically erased on January 1, 2023. People included under this provision of the law need not do anything to make these convictions eligible for erasure.
• Convictions for the following violations can be erased if one files a petition in Superior Court:
  • Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-279 for possession of less than or equal to four ounces of a cannabis-type substance imposed before January 1, 2000, and between October 1, 2015, and June 30, 2021.
  • Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-267(a) for possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia for cannabis imposed before July 1, 2021.
  • Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-277(b) imposed before July 1, 2021, for manufacturing, selling, possessing with intent to sell, or giving or administering to another person a cannabis-type substance and the amount involved was under four ounces or six plants grown inside a person’s home for personal use.

According to state officials, Connecticut residents who have their convictions erased can legally declare that their convictions never happened.

“Residents who have had their records erased may tell employers, landlords, and schools that the conviction never occurred,” the governor’s office said.

Sources: The Office of Governor Ned Lamont | The Blaze