Los Angeles County prosecutors will move to dismiss nearly 60,000 marijuana convictions, the district attorney’s office announced Monday.
District Attorney George Gascón said officials identified about 58,000 cases going back three decades that are eligible for dismissal.
“Dismissing these convictions means the possibility of a better future to thousands of disenfranchised people who are receiving this long-needed relief,” Gascón said in a statement Monday. “It clears the path for them to find jobs, housing and other services that previously were denied to them because of unjust cannabis laws.”
California voters approved a measure to legalize recreational weed in 2016. Since then, counties in the state have moved to wipe out thousands of marijuana convictions.