Minnesota Begins Process Of Clearing Cannabis Convictions As Promised By Legalization Law

Some Minnesotans will soon be able to have certain criminal records expunged thanks to the Adult-Use Cannabis Law and the Clean Slate Act.

Both laws require the automatic expungement of some records in the  Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's (BCA) Criminal History System (CHS). The Clean Slate Act goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Criminal history records will soon contain a notice that cannabis-related offenses may be eligible for expungement under the Adult-Use Cannabis Act, which goes into effect on August 1. 

In the lead-up to Minnesota's May 2023 official legalization of adult-use cannabis, Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten of St. Paul called legalizing cannabis a "racial justice issue" for people who have marijuana-related convictions on their records. Expunging those Minnesotans' convictions, she said, would make a "world of difference" for them. "People should know that these convictions have a long, lingering effect on people's lives. This is what this bill is about. It's about righting those past wrongs."

An estimated 66,000 cannabis-related records are eligible for automatic expungement as well as an additional 230,000 records that will be eligible for review by the Expungement Review Board at the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Offenses will remain on an individual's record until the BCA implements technical and programmatic changes in the CHS, which will likely occur closer to August 2024.

The Clean Slate Act sets out a process for the BCA to seal the records that qualify for expungement, from petty misdemeanor to felony-level offenses. It also expands the list of offenses eligible to petition the courts for an expungement order.

The specifics on how it will work and what the language will include are being developed now, noted the Dept. of Public Safety Blog.