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EMPOWERING VETERANS THROUGH EXPUNGEMENT

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Across Arizona, Veterans’ Stand Down events serve as a critical initiative aimed at supporting and empowering military veterans who have dedicated their lives to service. These events provide a unique opportunity for veterans to access essential services, resources and support systems—all in one place.

Included among the most needed services at a Stand Down is free legal aid provided by organizations like those that make up the Reclaim Your Future marijuana expungement campaign.

Charles Doughty

“Our organization attends the Stand Down events to ensure that our nation’s most vulnerable and most deserving population is aware of our services, that other service providers are aware of what we offer, and to educate ourselves about other vital services available for our clients,” said Charles Doughty, senior attorney for DNA People’s Legal Services, a Flagstaff-based legal aid provider and Reclaim Your Future coalition partner.

The statewide coalition, which includes DNA and six other legal aid and community outreach organizations across Arizona, plays a vital role in enabling veterans and anyone with a marijuana-related arrest or conviction to overcome the challenges associated with a criminal record and reestablish their lives in a positive way.

“Expungement can help veterans clean up their record and improve their chances at opening the doors afforded to them through these clearances.”

What is a Veteran’s Stand Down?

According to the American Legion, the Veterans’ “Stand Down” is “named for a military term for a combat unit’s time to rest and recover while at war.” Today, it is a grassroots effort that brings together service providers, government agencies, nonprofits and volunteers offering comprehensive support to unhoused and at-risk veterans.

A Stand Down typically spans multiple days and provides a safe and welcoming environment where veterans can access a wide range of services all under one roof. The services offered at a Veterans’ Stand Down include:

Healthcare
Veterans can receive medical and dental check-ups, mental health counseling, and access to necessary medications.

Housing Assistance
Representatives from housing agencies offer information about housing programs, rental assistance, and transitional housing options.

Employment Support
Veterans can explore employment opportunities, receive assistance with resume writing and interview skills, and access job training programs.

Social Services
Veterans can connect with organizations that offer assistance with obtaining identification documents, applying for benefits, and accessing food and clothing resources.

Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Information and referrals to drug treatment programs and counseling services are provided to veterans in need of assistance.

Legal Aid
Legal professionals are available to provide guidance on various legal matters, including expungement and clearing of criminal records.

Marijuana Expungement Efforts in Arizona

Arizona has taken positive steps towards the reform of laws that criminalize marijuana. In 2020, voters approved Proposition 207, legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for individuals aged 21 and older. Additionally, the legislation included provisions for expungement, allowing individuals with certain marijuana-related convictions and arrests to petition the court for expungement or the reduction of charges.

During Veterans’ Stand Downs, legal aid professionals and representatives from organizations specializing in criminal justice reform, including the Reclaim Your Future campaign, are available to guide veterans through the process of expungement. They provide information on eligibility criteria, necessary documentation, and the legal procedures involved. This support ensures that veterans can navigate the expungement process effectively, removing the burden of past marijuana convictions and opening doors to new opportunities.

Angela Demarse

“With veterans, we see a lot of older drug cases—the kind that you just can’t believe are still on someone’s record,” said Angela DeMarse, a supervising attorney for the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office (MCPD), who often refers cases to the Reclaim Your Future campaign. DeMarse supervises a team of law clerks and interns in the office, many of whom work on expungements, civil rights restoration, and other work for people with a conviction history.

“If it’s a simple expungement, the prosecutor’s office will usually put it through without objection,” said DeMarse, who’s worked for MCPD since 2011. “But these cases are not always clear cut. And that’s when the Reclaim Your Future campaign has been great—when someone has a complex expungement.”

The Importance of Marijuana Expungement to Veterans

Marijuana expungement has emerged as a crucial topic within the context of Veterans’ Stand Downs, as many veterans face legal consequences due to past marijuana convictions. Expungement refers to the process of sealing or undoing the legal consequences of criminal records. For veterans, expungement holds particular significance, as it can help alleviate the barriers they face in rebuilding their lives. Past marijuana convictions can hinder employment prospects, access to housing, educational opportunities, and obtaining professional licenses.

“Many veterans return to the civilian workforce seeking employment in fields that require heightened clearance such as a fingerprint clearance card,” Doughty said. “Expungement can help these veterans clear or clean up their record and improve their chances at opening the doors afforded to them through these clearances.”

“These cases are not always clear cut. And that’s when the Reclaim Your Future campaign has been great–when someone has a complex expungement.”

By expunging these records, veterans can reduce the obstacles they encounter as they reintegrate into civilian life, as is the case, Doughty said, for a recent DNA People’s Legal Services veteran-client.

“That person is working on obtaining his fingerprint clearance card in order to maintain his current employment. Three expungement petitions cleaned up his record and put him in better standing to obtain that clearance card,” Doughty said. “We’re hopeful that his good cause exception is granted. Even if he does not obtain his fingerprint clearance card, he no longer has any marijuana-related records that could negatively impact his ability to find work.”

Visit the RYF Table at the Next Stand Down!

If you’re a veteran with a marijuana-related conviction or arrest, you can speak with the Reclaim Your Future team at the George Willie, Sr. Memorial Veterans’ Stand Down in Flagstaff on Thursday, June 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For additional details, see https://azexpunge.org/legal-clinic/george-willie-sr-memorial-veterans-stand-down-flagstaff-06-29-23/

This quality content was created by Hey Joe Media, an Arizona small business.

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AZ APPEALS COURT: Coconino County ‘Erred’ When It Deemed Marijuana Sales Offenses Ineligible For Expungement

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FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA–JUNE 8, 2023–Today, the Arizona Court of Appeals reiterated and affirmed its May 30 ruling in State v. Sorensen that the expungement statute codified into law by the passage of Proposition 207 in 2020 makes “sale-related marijuana offenses” eligible for expungement.

“The Court of Appeals has correctly interpreted the law, which will now allow many more people to benefit from the expungement process”

As the Court stated in its ruling in State v. Pliego, via Presiding Judge Jennifer M. Perkins:

“The State [represented by the Coconino County Attorney’s Office] argued in its objection to [the appellant’s] petition for expungement that ‘for sale offenses are not eligible for expungement.’ This Court recently concluded that ‘for sale’ offenses are included within the expungement statute. State v. Sorensen, 1 CA-CR 21-0518, 2023 WL 3702761, at *3, ¶ 12 (Ariz. App. May 30, 2023); A.R.S. § 36-2862(A)(1).

Notably, in Sorensen the State agreed that the expungement statute applies to ‘sale-related marijuana offenses.’ Id. at ¶ 6. Although we are not ‘absolutely bound by prior Court of Appeals decisions, the principle of Stare decisis and the need for stability in the law’ requires us to consider this Court’s previous decisions ‘as highly persuasive and binding, unless we are convinced that the prior decisions are based upon clearly erroneous principles, or conditions have changed so as to render these prior decisions inapplicable.’ Castillo v. Indus. Comm’n, 21 Ariz. App. 465, 471 (1974). 

We see no special reason that would warrant departure from Sorensen. Therefore, the superior court erred when it determined that marijuana sales offenses are per se ineligible for expungement.”

The appellant in this case was successfully represented by Adam Cirzan of Flagstaff-based DNA People’s Legal Services, a member organization of the statewide Reclaim Your Future campaign, the only state-funded marijuana expungement effort in Arizona.

The 2020 passage of Prop 207 legalized adult recreational use of marijuana in Arizona and created a pathway to expungement. The Department of Health Services has since provided funding from marijuana sales to the Reclaim Your Future campaign for education and community outreach related to Prop 207.

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The Reclaim Your Future campaign is organized by the Arizona Marijuana Expungement Coalition and is funded by the Arizona Department of Health Services to help people seal their marijuana-related conviction histories. Our Coalition is composed of community legal services and advocacy organizations from across Arizona.

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ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DECISION: Marijuana Sales Convictions Can Be Expunged, Per Prop 207

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PHOENIX, ARIZONA–MAY 30, 2023–Today, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that prior convictions and arrests for the sale of marijuana are also eligible for expungement per the passage of Proposition 207 in 2020, a decision that could positively impact the lives of thousands of Arizonans with a marijuana-related record. Before this decision, it was unclear whether individuals charged with possession of marijuana-for-sale were eligible for expungement.

In State v. Sorensen, Appeals Court Presiding Judge Brian Furuya concluded that Arizona Revised Statute (ARS) § 36-2862(A)(1) makes “sale-related marijuana offenses” eligible for expungement, thus overruling the lower court’s denial of the petition for expungement that was submitted by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) on behalf of the litigant. On July 15, 2021, MCAO filed a petition to expunge the 2014 conviction on behalf of the litigant, but that petition was denied by the court because the court ruled that the type of offense was ineligible for expungement.

“In sum, we conclude § 36-2862(A)(1) authorizes expungement of sale-related marijuana offenses when they otherwise satisfy the statute’s eligibility requirements,” Furuya wrote. 

“As a result, the court erred by denying the State’s expungement petition.”

“Today’s decision is a great embodiment of the will of the Arizona voters who elected to undo the harms caused by the overpolicing of marijuana laws,” said Martin Hutchins, lead attorney and program manager for the Reclaim Your Future campaign, a state-funded expungement effort that includes free legal aid providers in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff. “There are many people who were charged with for-sale offenses before the passage of Prop 207 even when they had minimal amounts of marijuana because other factors led officers to assume the person was some sort of dealer. The state and the cannabis industry is now making millions on marijuana sales, so it’s fortunate that people who were believed to have committed a sales-related offense can now benefit from expungement.

“This will allow them to mitigate the generational impact of their involvement with the criminal legal system,” added Hutchins, “which affects Black and Brown people and people of lower socioeconomic status at disproportionate rates.”

The passage of the 2020 voter initiative, Proposition 207, legalized adult recreational use of marijuana in Arizona and created a pathway to expungement. The Department of Health Services has since provided funding from medical marijuana sales to the Reclaim Your Future campaign for education and community outreach related to Prop 207.

The campaign is organized by a coalition of seven legal aid and community outreach nonprofits–Phoenix-based Arizona Justice Project, the Arizona State University Post-Conviction Clinic, and Community Legal Services; the Tucson-based University of Arizona Civil Rights Restoration Clinic, Just Communities Arizona, and Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc.; and Flagstaff-based DNA Peoples’ Legal Services–to provide free resources and assistance related to expungement.

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The Reclaim Your Future campaign is organized by the Arizona Marijuana Expungement Coalition and is funded by the Arizona Department of Health Services to help people seal their marijuana-related conviction histories. Our Coalition is composed of community legal services and advocacy organizations from across Arizona.

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AZ dispensaries partner with Reclaim Your Future to uplift free expungement

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With more than $1.6 billion in revenue since the 2020 passage of Proposition 207 (also known as the Smart & Safe Act or, simply, Prop 207), Arizona’s marijuana dispensary industry has become one of the wealthiest and most influential in the state.

Of course, with great power comes great responsibility—corporate social responsibility, that is.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept in which companies choose to integrate social and environmental concerns into their business operations. It’s a way for businesses to be socially accountable to themselves, their stakeholders, and the public. For the cannabis industry, expungement is an obvious endeavor for companies to implement CSR.

Martin Hutchins

“A criminal record is an ever-lasting scarlet letter for people, and its impact on lives are often detrimental. Now that marijuana is legal, people should no longer bear the burdens caused by old marijuana offenses, especially because companies are making millions of dollars off marijuana,” says Martin Hutchins, an attorney and program manager for the Reclaim Your Future campaign. “Tackling the criminal legal problems that still exist for people from marijuana offenses requires an ‘all hands on deck’ approach, including those from the government, non-profit and corporate sectors.”

‘Meeting people where they are’

Expungement is one way to mitigate the harms caused by over-policing of marijuana. When voters passed Prop 207, Arizona officials estimated that more than 192,000 marijuana-related charges were on the record, meaning that there were at least 192,000 records that should be evaluated for expungement eligibility. Further, there are still people serving time in prison or on parole and paying fines to the court because of marijuana offenses.

John Calloway

“We understand where the cannabis industry started,” says John Calloway, executive director for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) at Trulieve, an operator of marijuana dispensaries across Arizona and 10 other states. “We understand the War on Drugs, and we want to always make sure that everything we do as an organization is focused on the community, especially the communities we operate in and the communities we serve.”

To that end, Trulieve, its Harvest dispensaries in Arizona, and other dispensaries across the state, including Glendale’s Arizona Organix, Tucson’s Downtown Dispensary, and more have partnered with the Reclaim Your Future campaign for the past several months, hosting our expungement clinics, educating their customers and patients on the benefits of marijuana expungement, and directing people with a marijuana record to the Reclaim Your Future website for free expungement assistance.

It’s an intentional partnership Hutchins envisioned from the moment he took on the role of leading the Reclaim Your Future campaign.

“Partnering with dispensaries is important because we are trying to tap into their regular involvement with patients and customers–people that we know expungement is likely to help. It’s all about going where the people are,” Hutchins says. “We do a lot of expungement events in libraries and courthouses. And it’s great to have access to those spaces, but they aren’t always the most warm and welcoming places. They can be intimidating to folks.

“But when the people we need to reach go to a dispensary, they are far more comfortable there and, obviously, they are far more likely to go there than court,” he adds. “Meeting people where they are is always a great way to help people learn about information and resources that they are not yet aware of.”

Expungement education & outreach are key

Prop 207, which legalized adult recreational use of marijuana in Arizona, also created a pathway to expungement for the hundreds of thousands of people who may have a marijuana conviction or arrest from this state. And that means no longer having to fear the results of a background check when applying for a good job or searching for a safe place to live, or any number of collateral consequences that come from a conviction history.

You might think that, because recreational use of marijuana is now legal in Arizona, expungement is automatic for those with an arrest or conviction history. Sadly, that’s not the case. Those with an eligible marijuana record from Arizona–or legal representatives who can do so on their behalf–are required to petition the court for expungement, which effectively seals the conviction or arrest from public records. Prop 207 included funding for outreach and education and, most importantly, legal aid so people with a marijuana record wouldn’t be forced to pay for expungement.

“Expungement is a social justice component [of marijuana legalization] that is needed,” says Calloway, whose Harvest dispensaries in Arizona recently hosted a series of Reclaim Your Future events in Chandler, Scottsdale and Tucson. “Just because a state goes recreational does not mean that everyone is educated on the processes to actually go through expungement. And oftentimes I’ve found, as I’ve gone out to expungement clinics, that people believe that it’s just automatic and they believe that [expungement] is just gonna happen. And sometimes they don’t know that they have to take additional steps to make it official with the justice system.

“So, we want to do our part to make sure that we are educating the community and giving back to the community.”

‘The difference between an hourly job and a real career’

Stephanie Boyden, founding partner of Tucson’s Downtown Dispensary and D2 Dispensary, has seen the “value and importance of expungement to our community” firsthand, thanks to her dispensaries hosting recent events with the University of Arizona’s Civil Rights Restoration Clinic, a Reclaim Your Future campaign partner.

In February, she met a woman who drove to Tucson from Phoenix for a Reclaim Your Future clinic at Downtown Dispensary after learning about it on social media. The woman, Boyden recalls, was working to become a dental hygienist assistant, but couldn’t get her certification because of a previous marijuana conviction.

Stephanie Boyden

“But in two hours, in the space that we provided and with the help of the Reclaim Your Future attorneys, the process to expunge her conviction began,” Boyden says. “That could be the difference between an hourly job and a real career–a real change. Just absolutely transformative for her life!”

While hosting expungement events and educating their clientele are important parts of the corporate social responsibility that marijuana dispensaries owe to the public, Hutchins says, employing people of color and people with a marijuana conviction history that’s been expunged is just as vital.

Although expungement is not the ultimate solution for all the problems caused by past enforcement of marijuana laws, it’s an actionable start,” Hutchins adds.

The Reclaim Your Future campaign is available to provide assistance to dispensaries who want to ensure their involvement in expungement efforts.

To partner with Reclaim Your Future, email info@azexpunge.org.

This quality content was created by Hey Joe Media, an Arizona small business.

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Expungement Efforts Highlighted on 2nd Anniversary of Prop 207

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PHOENIX, ARIZONA—November 3, 2022—Adult recreational use of marijuana in Arizona was legalized on this date two years ago with the passage of Proposition 207, also known as the Smart & Safe Arizona Act. With legalization, Prop 207 also created a path to expungement, which is the process of sealing certain criminal records from the public. Thus, in a state with more than 192,000 marijuana-related convictions and arrests, the Arizona Marijuana Expungement Coalition’s Reclaim Your Future campaign was born.

Prop 207’s expungement law (ARS § 36-2862) went into effect on July 12, 2021. Since then, at least 17,350 petitions for expungement have been filed in Arizona, with an overwhelming majority of those petitions filed in the state’s population hub of Maricopa County, based on available data provided to the Coalition by prosecutors’ offices across the state.

Meanwhile, the Reclaim Your Future campaign—which is funded by the Arizona Department of Health Services and led by legal aid providers based in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff—has conducted scores of free legal clinics and information sessions all over Arizona. In the first fiscal year of the campaign, nearly 90 legal clinics were conducted across the state providing free legal services to more than 670 attendees. And Coalition partner Just Communities Arizona was largely responsible for leading 105 information sessions, educating more than 1,600 attorneys, service providers and community-based organizers to help facilitate expungements.

Additionally, Coalition partners at the ASU Post-Conviction Clinic successfully litigated the early release of two people in prison and one person from community supervision, whose sentences were enhanced by marijuana convictions that have since been expunged.

“It’s amazing all the work our Coalition has put into this,” said attorney Martin Hutchins, the program manager for the Reclaim Your Future campaign. “But we know this is just the beginning of our efforts to help people seek better employment opportunities, find safe housing, and remove the stigma of a conviction or arrest from their background.”

The Coalition has several in-person clinics planned in the coming months, where people seeking expungement can receive free assistance to file their petitions. Reclaim Your Future also offers an Online Petition clinic at its website, azexpunge.org, where visitors can also find a full calendar of upcoming events.

Additionally, the Coalition will continue to encourage prosecutors’ offices across Arizona to take the lead on expungement, as Section (I) of the expungement law gives prosecuting agencies, including county attorneys and municipal prosecutors, the authority to file expungement petitions on behalf of people prosecuted by their offices. The Arizona Attorney General may also seek expungement for anyone prosecuted anywhere within the state. So far, only the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has exercised this option and has filed 16,957 petitions for expungement to date.

“Our Coalition has built a large network and important relationships across Arizona in order to continue identifying people with eligible cases,” Hutchins said. “But because prosecutors’ offices have the greatest access to records, they are in the best position and have the greatest resources to get these records sealed to help people move on.”

“Prosecutors need to step up,” Hutchins added, “and take the initiative to correct past injustices created by the criminalization and over-policing of marijuana.”

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The Reclaim Your Future campaign is organized by the Arizona Marijuana Expungement Coalition and is funded by the Arizona Department of Health Services to help people expunge their marijuana-related public records. Our Coalition is composed of community legal aid providers and advocacy organizations from across Arizona, including the Arizona Justice Project, Community Legal Services, DNA People’s Legal Services, Southern Arizona Legal Aid, the University of Arizona Civil Rights Restoration Clinic, the Arizona State University Post-Conviction Clinic, and Just Communities Arizona.

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Get your criminal record expunged, for the first time in Arizona

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Got a Marijuana record in Arizona?

Thanks to Prop 207, you can begin expungement of your record starting 07/12/2021.

Help us understand YOUR expungement needs.

AFSC-AZ and ReFraming Justice are conducting a survey to help us better understand community needs around expungement. We want to hear directly from the people the expungement process is designed to benefit.

Complete our survey and tell us your expungement needs. Share it widely with others!

What are your expungement needs?

Beginning July 12, 2021, anyone who was arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or sentenced to any eligible marijuana related offense may have that offense expunged.

Expungement is the process of sealing and making unavailable a prior criminal record. This will be the first time expungement of records is possible in Arizona!

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