New Leaf Illinois launched earlier this month as part of the state’s law legalizing recreational cannabis.
Under the law, people with low-level marijuana convictions can have their records expunged and state officials estimate hundreds of thousands of people are eligible.
Backers say it’s a critical step in undoing the damage done by a half-century of the war on drugs, which has particularly affected minorities, who were likely to be arrested and prosecuted for marijuana offences.
The help is available statewide to “make sure that there was going to be that same level of advocacy for people statewide to be able to be freed of the collateral consequences of cannabis convictions,” said Rep.
Sales of legal marijuana in
© 2020 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source