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State legislators voted in favor of a bill that will seal criminal records for cannabis possession. Now they are working on a system to accelerate that process.

Clean Slate And Cannabis Erasure

Legislators in Connecticut implemented a Clean Slate law that included a focus on expunging criminal records for cannabis possession. The state legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021, which left thousands of residents with convictions for actions that are now legal.

To remediate this situation, legislators established a system to automatically expunge convictions for violations of the state’s General Statutes § 21a-279(c) imposed between January 1, 2000, and September 30, 2015. Unfortunately, this did not work as well as they’d hoped. An improved method for automatically expunging cannabis related convictions should be completed by the end of 2023. When that happens, thousands of records are expected to be sealed.

Ineligible Records

There are several types of convictions that are related to cannabis, and not all will be expunged automatically. As of January 1, 2023, residents were permitted to file a petition that requests expunction for the following types of records.

• Violations of General Statutes § 21a-279 for possession of less than or equal to 4 ounces of cannabis imposed before January 1, 2000 or between October 1, 2015 and June 30, 2021.
• Violations of General Statutes § 21a-267(a) for possession of cannabis paraphernalia imposed before July 1, 2021.
• Violations of General Statutes § 21a-277(b) for manufacturing, selling, and possession with intent to sell less than or equal to 4 ounces of cannabis or 6 cannabis plants grown in your house for personal use imposed before July 1, 2021.

Each petition goes through a review process to decide if the records can be expunged.

Eligibility Requirements For Expungements

To qualify for any type of expungement opportunity in Connecticut, residents must have completed all of their sentence components, which can include:

• Prison time.
• Parole and special parole.
• Probation.
• Paying criminal fines.
• Registering as a sexual offender, if required to do so.
• Registering as a deadly weapon offender, if required to do so.

Residents must also meet waiting period requirements, which are:

7 years from the date of the last conviction for a misdemeanor.

10 years from the date of the last conviction for a felony.

What This Means For Employers

Organizations that operate in Connecticut should be aware that, despite some unexpected delays, residents will be able to have a variety of marijuana-related criminal records expunged. Once that happens, those records cannot be considered by hiring managers or anyone else while they are making decisions about consumers.

It is important to only review current, reportable data when reviewing background information about applicants, volunteers and contractors. A great way to accomplish this is to work with a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) that is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). These CRAs take reasonable steps to ensure they only provide current data that can help businesses make informed decisions, maintain safe workplaces and conduct due diligence.

Need Background Checks?

If your organization needs employment background checks, please contact us. Our experienced team can customize screening packages based on applicable laws, industry standards and your specific needs. We are available to assist you Monday through Friday from 5am to 6pm PT.