California Marijuana Law And Effect On Previous Conviction

A number of different problems may have impacted you personally if you have a previous California marijuana possession conviction on your record. But since marijuana is now legal in California, you’re probably wondering whether or not your drug conviction can be expunged. This depends on your age at the time of the offense, your individual criminal record, and your specific conviction.

Proposition 64 officially made recreational marijuana legal in California. This also means that you can reduce certain felony marijuana charges to misdemeanors, have your current sentence reduced for some offenses or even can have certain misdemeanors reclassified as infractions. Reducing your conviction applies immediately after you have been charged. If you have been convicted of possession of marijuana for sale, cultivation of marijuana or felony sale of marijuana, you need the help of a California criminal defense attorney immediately to discuss reducing your conviction. Only certain cases will apply, so make sure you can trust your criminal defense attorney based on his or her individual experience and knowledge.

Proposition 64 authorizes legal criminal defenders to petition for the records of certain convictions to be destroyed and sealed. This is different from having your conviction redesignated to an infraction or a misdemeanor because this action removes the conviction from your record. This is right for you if you are concerned about someone uncovering these details during an employment background check, for example. fo

If a previous conviction is based on conduct that would now be classified as legal, such as a small amount of marijuana in possession of anyone aged 21 or older, you can use your criminal defense attorney in California to petition for your records to be sealed and destroyed. Other offenses that are now legal include:

• Cultivation of six or fewer plants by someone older than 21.
• Possession of less than 8 grams of concentrated cannabis by someone older than 21.
• Offering to give for free an individual less than 28.5 grams of marijuana if that person is over 21.
• Transporting less than 8 grams of concentrated cannabis as a 21 year old.

If you believe that your life has been impacted by these convictions and you wish to change it, schedule a consultation with an experienced and knowledgeable attorney.