State judiciary expunges more than 20k marijuana cases

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island has completed phase one of its marijuana expungement program, which resulted in the records of over 23,000 marijuana possession cases being expunged.

The state said 3,015 individual cases were expunged in the Superior Court, 10,650 in the District Court, and 9,952 cases in the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.

The expungements, which all occurred before the April 30 deadline, come as part of the Rhode Island Cannabis Act that was signed into law last year.

The law makes it so that possessing certain amounts of marijuana legal and requires the courts to automatically remove records of any eligible cases and charges.

The first phase of the expungement process erases records of criminal charges of singular possession for all individuals over 18-years-old and civil charges by those over 21-years-old.

Phase two of the process will include cases where possession of marijuana was one of multiple charges and is still in the planning process.

The courts plan to ensure all eligible charges will be expunged by July 1, 2024.

State residents can search the Rhode Island Judiciary Public Portal to see if a case has been expunged.