ADVOCATES, CITY OFFICIALS TO ANNOUNCE PROGRESS ON EFFORTS TO EXPUNGE THOUSANDS OF MARIJUANA-RELATED RECORDS IN TUCSON
TUCSON, AZ – On Thursday, April 18, Vice Mayor Kevin Dahl will join the Tucson City Prosecutor’s Office and the Reclaim Your Future campaign at El Presidio Plaza to announce the exciting progress made to expunge thousands of marijuana-related records in Tucson in a joint news conference ahead of the annual 420 international cannabis holiday.
In January, the Tucson City Prosecutor’s Office and Reclaim Your Future coalition partners–including Southern Arizona Legal Aid and the University of Arizona’s Civil Rights Restoration Clinic–began working together with Tucson City Court to identify misdemeanor marijuana possession cases eligible for expungement.
Prop 207, which legalized adult recreational use of marijuana in Arizona when it was passed in 2020, also created a pathway to expungement but left the burden of filing for expungement to those who had been convicted, arrested or charged with marijuana-related offenses. Noting the disparities in access to expungement services, Vice Mayor Dahl prompted the City of Tucson to explore options for proactive expungement.
Thus, Reclaim Your Future has worked with the Tucson City Prosecutor’s Office and Tucson City Court to identify approximately 17,000 marijuana possession cases eligible for expungement and has since helped draft petitions with the court to expunge those records–the numbers of which will be updated and shared at Thursday’s event.
Press are invited to the news conference, which will include a Q&A with Vice Mayor Dahl, the Tucson City Prosecutor’s Office and the Reclaim Your Future coalition.
WHO:
- Vice Mayor Kevin Dahl, City of Tucson
- Matt Walker, Tucson City Prosecutor’s Office
- Martin Hutchins, Reclaim Your Future Program Manager
- Dev Arredondo, Southern Arizona Legal Aid
- Mia Burcham, University of Arizona’s Civil Rights Restoration Clinic
WHEN:
April 18, 2024
10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
WHERE:
El Presidio Plaza
165 W. Alameda St.
Tucson, AZ 85701
LOGISTICS:
Cameras are advised to pre-set by 9:45 a.m.
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The Reclaim Your Future campaign is organized by the Arizona Justice Project and is funded by the Arizona Department of Health Services to help people expunge their marijuana-related offense records. The campaign includes legal services and advocacy organizations from across Arizona, including Just Communities Arizona, Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Community Legal Services, DNA-People’s Legal Services, University of Arizona’s Civil Rights Restoration Clinic, and Arizona State University’s Post-Conviction Clinic.
