Last month, almost 26,000 people in San Diego County with felony marijuana convictions on their records had them reduced to misdemeanors, reports ABC10.
Around 1,000 people with misdemeanor cannabis convictions had their cases dismissed altogether, according to a report from the San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday, March 7.
The reduced convictions and dismissals were made official in an order signed by San Diego Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide on February 5.
Although charges have been reduced, ABC10 reports it may take time to update individual court records to reflect those changes. The court system has been working through those logistics.
People who need their records updated sooner can file a petition, according to the courts.
The order was prompted by a list of cases eligible for relief submitted by the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. The submission was part of a state law that was an outgrowth of Proposition 64. The voter-approved measure from 2016 legalized some marijuana use.
The law required the Department of Justice and local prosecutors to compile and review all cases eligible for relief and submit the list to local courts. The deadline was July 1, 2020, but the process was pushed back to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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