City Council President Herb Wesson expressed his support for accelerating the expungement and resentencing of cannabis-related convictions in Greater Los Angeles.
“This is the right thing to do, plain and simple,” Wesson said.
“California voters told us with the passage of Prop. 64 that this is what they want their elected officials to do. My hope is that this will right some wrongs sooner rather than later for Angelenos whose lives have been negatively impacted by the War on Drugs.”
Wesson also co-signed a resolution that was introduced on Friday and would formally align the city of Los Angeles with legislation being considered at the county and state level on cannabis convictions.
The resolution follows the announcement by the San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon that his office plans to wipe more than 9,000 cannabis- related convictions.
Wesson’s office also said that various studies have shown that while cannabis use is roughly equal between Black and White people, Black people are nearly four times as likely to be arrested for simple marijuana possession.
