Minnesota & California Lead: Which States Are Failing At Cannabis Justice?

As the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s marijuana proclamation approaches, the Last Prisoner Project (LPP), a criminal justice reform nonprofit, is urging further action with the release of its State of Cannabis Justice Report.

On October 6th, Biden announced he would pardon all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, urge governors to do the same on a state level and ask the Department of Health and Human Services to review marijuana's classification as a Schedule I substance under federal law.

LPP notes that while this announcement offered hope to thousands of individuals who had previously faced the consequences of an unjust cannabis record, no one has actually been released from federal prison. There are approximately 3,000 people still incarcerated at the federal level for cannabis.

Given that most people incarcerated for cannabis have been sentenced at the state level, LPP has amplified this call by sending thousands of letters from the public urging governors around the country to grant cannabis clemency through their Pardons to Progress campaign.

State Of Cannabis: Justice Report Highlights

Now, one year later, LPP is releasing its landmark State of Cannabis Justice Report to educate people on how much progress, or lack thereof, each state has made regarding cannabis justice reforms such as resentencing, clearing records and granting pardons.

As it stands, 23 states have enacted adult-use cannabis legalization, 24 states have enacted cannabis-specific record clearance laws and 10 have enacted cannabis-specific resentencing laws. However, not all of these laws were automatic or state-initiated, thus creating further inequities.

In its report, LPP rated all the states across 4 categories: legalization, pardon program, record clearance, and resentencing. Only two states got a grade A, ranking the best in marijuana laws, including cannabis justice and those two are Minnesota and California.

“Boasting full legalization as well as state-initiated record clearance and resentencing laws, Minnesota holds some of the best cannabis justice laws in the country,” the report reads. “With this said, the processes require arduous reviews by a specially appointed board that are likely to be arduous and are already proving to be delayed.”

Per the report, California’s policies are among the best “providing state-initiated mechanisms for both record clearance and resentencing. With that said, the processes would benefit from broader eligibility and unfortunately, the state has failed to meet its implementation deadline of July 1, 2023.” 

New Mexico, New York and Maryland were next in line with B+ scores, followed by clear B scores given to Missouri, Nevada, Washington and Montana.

New Jersey and Illinois scored B-, while cannabis laws in Vermont, Connecticut, Oregon, Rhode Island and Colorado were rated C+.

Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, Arizona, Delaware scored clear C, and Hawai, New Hampshire North Dakota got C-.

Three states scored D+ - Alaska, Pennsylvania and Maine, while as many as 7 got D ratings: Louisiana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Utah, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Alabama.

Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Kansas were the nine last states to avoid the lowest grade of F, passing with a D-.

This means that the US states with the worst marijuana laws and cannabis justice are: South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Idaho and Wisconsin.

“With no full legalization, no pardon policy, and no avenues for either record clearance or resentencing, Florida falls behind by offering no relief for individuals impacted by the country's past cannabis prohibition,” the report highlights. 

Fight For Further Progress 

Over the past year, LPP has continued its mission to free every person incarcerated for cannabis, support their successful reentry into society and advocate for comprehensive cannabis legalization. By uplifting the voices of those impacted by cannabis criminalization through its Pen to Right History campaign, the nonprofit is hopeful that President Biden will right history by granting them clemency with the stroke of a pen.

“While we commend the steps taken by the President so far, we must fight for further progress and true cannabis criminal justice reform,” LPP concludes.