Marijuana Expungement by State: Who Qualifies After Legalization

Something unusual happened in American criminal law over the last decade. Conduct that was a crime when it occurred became legal. Not reduced, not reclassified — legal. And millions of people who were arrested, charged, and convicted for that conduct are still carrying the record.

As of 2026, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana. Many of those states recognized the obvious injustice: you cannot legalize an activity and leave people convicted of that same activity with permanent criminal records. So they created expungement pathways. Some are automatic. Some require a petition. And some states legalized marijuana without creating any expungement mechanism at all.

If you have an old marijuana conviction, the question is not whether the law has changed. It has. The question is whether your state created a path for you to benefit from that change.

The Two Models: Proactive vs. Reactive

States that have created marijuana expungement pathways fall into two broad categories:

Proactive (automatic) states take responsibility for identifying eligible records and clearing them without requiring the individual to file anything. The state reviews its own records, determines which convictions qualify, and issues expungement or resentencing orders.

Reactive (petition-based) states allow individuals to petition for expungement of qualifying marijuana convictions, but require the person to initiate the process. You file a petition, the court reviews it, and if you meet the criteria, the record is cleared.

The difference matters enormously. In proactive states, hundreds of thousands of records have been cleared without anyone filing a form. In reactive states, most eligible people have not filed because they do not know the option exists or find the process too burdensome.

Key State Programs

Illinois — Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act

Illinois took one of the most aggressive approaches in the country. The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which took effect in 2020, created automatic expungement for arrests and convictions involving 30 grams or less of marijuana. The state identified over 770,000 eligible records. Governor Pritzker issued pardons for over 20,000 cases in the first year alone. The Illinois State Police is responsible for processing the expungements, which are handled without any action required from the individuals affected.

California — Proposition 64

California's approach has been more complicated. Proposition 64, passed in 2016, legalized recreational marijuana and allowed people to petition for resentencing or dismissal of prior marijuana convictions. Under AB 1793 (2018), the California Department of Justice was directed to review all cannabis convictions in the state's criminal databases and identify those eligible for recall, dismissal, or redesignation. Prosecutors were then required to act on those cases. By 2020, over 100,000 cases had been reviewed, though the process was slower than advocates expected. Today, individuals can still petition the court to dismiss and seal marijuana convictions under Penal Code 1203.4 and Health & Safety Code 11361.8.

New York — Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA)

New York's MRTA, signed in 2021, included automatic expungement provisions for most marijuana possession and sale convictions. The Division of Criminal Justice Services was tasked with identifying and processing eligible records. Over 100,000 cases were slated for automatic expungement. The law required completion within two years of passage.

Oregon — ORS 137.226

Oregon established a process for vacating marijuana convictions that are now legal under state law. Convictions for possession of small amounts, or for conduct that is now permitted under the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission framework, may be eligible for set-aside. Oregon uses a petition-based system — you must file to initiate the process.

Minnesota — Automatic Expungement

Minnesota's 2023 legalization law included a strong automatic expungement provision. By May 2024, the state had expunged nearly 60,000 cannabis convictions. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension processed the records without requiring individuals to petition. This was one of the fastest implementations of automatic marijuana expungement in the country.

State-by-State Overview

The following table summarizes marijuana expungement availability in states that have legalized recreational use.

The Racial Justice Dimension

The argument for marijuana expungement is not just about fairness to individuals. It is about a documented pattern of unequal enforcement. ACLU research has consistently found that Black Americans are nearly four times as likely as white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite roughly equal rates of use. In some counties, the disparity is ten to one.

Legalization without expungement locks in those disparities. The people who were disproportionately arrested continue to carry those records — and the employment, housing, and educational consequences that come with them — while the activity itself becomes a legal, taxed industry. This is why advocacy groups have pushed so hard for expungement provisions to be included in every legalization bill.

What If Your State Has Not Created an Expungement Path?

Some states that legalized marijuana did not include expungement provisions in their legalization laws. And some states where marijuana remains illegal have no marijuana-specific expungement pathway at all.

In those states, your options are general expungement or sealing under whatever statute your state provides. Many marijuana convictions — especially misdemeanor possession — may be eligible for standard expungement after the waiting period has passed. You do not need a marijuana-specific law to expunge a marijuana conviction. You just need to meet your state's general eligibility criteria.

You can explore your options using the free options guide. It covers both marijuana-specific and general expungement pathways for all 50 states.