Missouri NORML announced late Friday that the marijuana cases of more than 3,500 Missourians had been wiped from all public records just weeks after Amendment 3 went into effect Dec. 8. Ultimately, more than 100,000 cannabis deletions are expected.

Missouri Voter legalized cannabis for adults in the November midterm elections by approving Amendment 3, making Missouri the first state in the Union where voters initiated automatic overturning of previous marijuana convictions.

According to the Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA), as of Jan. 19, 3,518 writs have been granted by Missouri courts.

A week earlier, 2,340 waivers had been granted, meaning that in a single week, 1,178 additional waivers were registered by OSCA.

“This is having a very positive impact on thousands of lives. Ultimately, we expect to automatically grant more than 100,000 deletions in Missouri marijuana cases,” said Dan Viets, Missouri NORML coordinator.

The data shows that 25 Missouri counties have already started eliminating marijuana cases, despite having until June 8 to eliminate misdemeanors and December 8 for certain marijuana felonies. While no additional funding is yet available from the state government or adult marijuana sales taxes, these counties are still making progress.

Deletion Vs. Pardon

not how President Biden pardoned in October of 6,500 federal cannabis prisoners, deletions are far more effective. A pardon merely adds a line to the public record that says “pardon granted” and does not remove or erase anything from an individual’s record.

While deletions remove literally all records of a case from all public access and in some cases from police and prosecutors as well. A deletion is intended to completely erase all records of a marijuana case and restore the accused to the status he or she had before the indictment.

Language in Missouri…