Thousands In Hawaii With Arrest Records For Marijuana Possession Could Have Them Expunged
Hawaii Bill Seeks to Expunge Records of Thousands Arrested for Small Marijuana Possession.
Over 36,000 people in Hawaii arrested for possessing less than 3 grams of marijuana before that offense was decriminalized in 2019 could have all or part of their criminal records expunged at no cost if legislation to amend the state’s criminal statutes succeeds.
House Bill 1595, which passed the full House on Tuesday and now heads to the Senate, would create a free state-initiated process for certain criminal records to be expunged over time, including for those arrested or convicted for promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree.
More than 52,000 arrest records under that statute exist in the state’s criminal data repository, but only 10,000 of those arrests resulted in convictions, the House Judiciary Committee was told during an informational briefing on Friday.
The total number of offenders who would be affected in one way or another by the law is 36,378, according to the administrator of the the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, Phil Higdon. Not all would qualify for full expungement because of other offenses.
Launching a proactive expungement program that doesn’t require an application would be a heavy lift for the HCJDC and the state Judiciary, the committee was told.
