San Francisco to expunge over 9,300 marijuana-related convictions

San Francisco’s District Attorney said Monday that his office would be expunging more than 9,300 marijuana convictions from individuals’ records.

District Attorney George Gascón’s office used an advanced open-source computer algorithm to identify cases that were eligible for expungement, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

{mosads}The move comes less than three years after California fully legalized recreational marijuana in the state, opening the door for expungement and re-sentencing for people with marijuana-related convictions.

The 9,362 eligible cases identified with assistance from the nonprofit advocacy group Code for America date back to 1975.

“It’s incumbent that we, as law enforcement leaders, continue to evolve how we advance fairness and public safety in our respective communities,” Gascón said Monday. “I hope that our success with Code for America can act as a catalyst for other leaders looking to engage in similar innovative and out-of-the-box methods to reform and rethink what our criminal justice system looks like.”

Gascón said the work with Code for America happened even faster than expected and was under the budget allotted.

The move applies to both misdemeanors and felonies, the latter being reclassified or dropped completely.

Gascón will soon present the cases identified as eligible to a judge in the coming weeks to be approved.

San Francisco’s decision follows similar moves made by states including Colorado and Oregon and others to expunge criminal marijuana convictions.