L.A. to dismiss 60,000 felony marijuana convictions
LOS ANGELES — The Office of the District Attorney for Los Angeles
County has announced that it will dismiss an estimated 66,000 marijuana
convictions.
Some 53,000 people are anticipated to have their records expunged.
Nearly 60,000 of the cases under review are marijuana-related felony
convictions, some of which date back to the 1960s.
“The dismissal of tens of thousands of old cannabis-related convictions in Los Angeles County will bring much-needed relief to communities of color that disproportionately suffered the unjust consequences of our nation’s drug laws,” D.A. Jackie Lacey said in a news release. “I am privileged to be part of a system dedicated to finding innovative solutions and implementing meaningful criminal justice reform that gives all people the support they need to build the life they deserve.”
Los Angeles County is one of several California counties
participating in a pilot project that automatically reviews and expunges
marijuana-related criminal convictions. To date, District Attorneys in
other counties, such as Contra Costa, Sacramento, and San Francisco,
have dismissed more than 85,000 marijuana-related convictions.
Pot use linked to weight loss: study
QUEBEC —The use of marijuana is associated with a smaller waistline
and lower levels of triglycerides, according to data published in the
journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
An investigator from the Canadian National Public Health Institute
assessed the relationship between cannabis use, waist circumference, and
triglyceride levels. Data analyzed in the study was extracted from a
nationally representative database (the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey).
The researchers reported that those subjects who consumed marijuana
at least four times a week typically possessed a smaller waistline and
lower triglycerides than either non-users or former consumers.
The finding is consistent with several prior studies, indicating that
marijuana use is associated with lower rates of obesity, BMI, and
cholesterol levels.
Legal marijuana industry employs 240,000
SEATTLE — Jobs in the state-licensed cannabis industry rose 15
percent during the past 12 months, and the industry now employs over
243,000 full-time workers, according to data compiled by Leafly.com.
According to its 2020 report, the regulated cannabis industry added
33,700 new jobs over the past year. States adding the greater number of
new cannabis-related jobs were Massachusetts (10,266 jobs) and Oklahoma
(7,300 jobs). Overall, the total number of full-time jobs in the
licensed cannabis industry has doubled since 2017.
“The refusal [of the federal government] to acknowledge the existence of legal cannabis jobs is a powerful act of shaming and stigmatization,” the report concludes.
Cannabis Culture news in the Blade is provided in partnership with NORML. Visit norml.org for more information.
Published at Tue, 25 Feb 2020 16:10:39 +0000