As the author says.. It isn’t going well
Well, things haven’t gone according to plan.
Despite a 2018 law that was meant to speed up and automate the process, tens of thousands of Californians still have pot-related felonies, misdemeanors and other convictions on their records, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.
“At least 34,000 marijuana records still have not been fully processed by the courts, according to an analysis of data provided by court officials throughout the state. The number was more than twice that in August, before The Times began questioning the slow processing times,” according to the report.
These marks on people’s records, of course, can torpedo efforts to get jobs, professional licenses, housing, loans and other situations in which background checks are required.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who wrote the law to clear criminal records while he served in the state Legislature, acknowledged problems with its implementation.
“It’s not acceptable. It’s taking too long,” Bonta told The Times in an interview.
The Times identified the area in California with the lowest clearance rate and explored the barriers to speeding up the process.
