Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said hours before the start of the new year in an announcement that his state had dropped nearly 500,000 marijuana-related convictions.
The move follows Pritzker’s signing in 2019 that legalizes recreational marijuana use in the state from 2020. The extensive legislation also paved the way for 770,000 state residents to qualify for marijuana-related crimes to be dropped.
Pritzker initially estimated it would take four years for records to be removed, but announced on Thursday that nearly 500,000 had already been discarded by 2021.
“We reached this milestone a year after an ongoing effort to correct historical wrongs fueled by the war on drugs,” he tweeted.
I am proud to announce that nearly 500,000 low-level cannabis-related records in Illinois have been removed four years ahead of schedule.
We reached this milestone a year after what will be an ongoing effort to correct historical wrongs fueled by the war on drugs.
– Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) December 31, 2020
We will never be able to fully repair the depth of damage in communities of color that have borne this burden disproportionately. But we can rule with the courage to admit the mistakes of our past – and the decency to forge a better path forward.
– Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) December 31, 2020
“We will never be able to fully repair the depth of damage in communities of color who have borne this burden disproportionately. But we can rule with the courage to admit the mistakes of our past – and the decency to admit it. Better way forward. “
Illinois has joined more than a dozen states in recent years that have legalized marijuana recreationally and tried to tackle convictions related to the drug.
California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington have each enacted legislation to explicitly disclose the records of those convicted of a low level. delete or seal marijuana crimes.