The state Legislature is still working on measures addressing marijuana this session — not legalization, but increasing the amount covered by decriminalization.
The attention on the regulation of the substance has raised questions about clearing criminal records for marijuana convictions under old laws.
However, progress in that area has been painfully slow.
The state decriminalized possession of under 3 grams of marijuana in 2020. That law also cleared the way for anyone convicted of possessing that amount to have their record cleared — or “expunged.”
The Hawaiʻi Criminal Justice Data Center says about 12,000 records could qualify for expungement. Over the last four years, only two people have been able to clear their criminal records.
The center is part of the state Department of the Attorney General. Its data also shows about 40,000 arrest records are potentially for possession of less than 3 grams of marijuana. While these people were not convicted, the arrest records remain.
The state has only been able to expunge about 50 of those records a year in the last four years.
“These numbers don’t even scratch the surface, right?,” said Hawai‘i Innocence Project Associate Director Jennifer Brown.
Brown and other advocates want a state-initiated expungement process. That’s when the state begins the expungement process versus how it works now where those seeking relief apply to the state themselves and pay a fee.
Brown said a state-initiated expungement process would benefit not only those seeking relief but also the state.
“If you have people that have arrests or even convictions that are eligible to be expunged and then their criminal records, background checks are coming in and it’s preventing them from housing, it’s preventing them from certain social services, preventing them from employment — all of that is costly to the state as well,” she said.
Out of the expungement applications that have been submitted for marijuana possession, only a few have been rejected over the years. The main reason was that the people did not submit the proper payment for their expungement.
One measure being voted on Tuesday in the Senate on its third reading would start a state-initiated expungement pilot process on Hawaiʻi Island for non-conviction marijuana possession records.
Last Prisoner Project Senior Policy Associate Frank Stiefel said it could be a great learning opportunity for the state.
“Our hope is that this pilot can really show and work out the kinks for what a state-initiated process could look like to really tackle the issue at a larger level, to tackle all of these non-conviction records,” he said.
“There’s thousands of individuals right now in Hawaiʻi (with) a record for cannabis possession, even though they’ve been convicted of no criminal wrongdoing,” Stiefel said.
The attorney general’s office supports the measure over a different bill that would create a task force to come up with a state-initiated expungement process for the whole state.
Although lawmakers declined to legalize marijuana this session, another bill that would decriminalize up to 1 ounce of marijuana and lower the fine from $130 to $25 awaits Senate agreement with House amendments to the measure — one of the final stages of the legislative process.
If it does pass, more people could become eligible to expunge their marijuana possession convictions.