Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

california drug arrest records prior to marijuana decriminalization

I would like to know if California disposed of drug arrests records when marijuana was 'decriminalized'? The 'Subject' was arrested for Pot when it was a felony,..1969, (along with what was then named 'dangerous drugs') and altho' jailed for both was later released and never appeared for trial..as of the present time the 'Subject' had his Federal record from the 'DOJ' and these were NOT on it..he is happy with this but asked if this can possibly still be found on him or did California simply delete these things when laws changed ,maybe due to the incredibly large number of arrests during that period prior to 'decriminalization'?He has concerns about any 'legal' career background check..eg. 'paralegal'.


Asked on 8/23/08, 9:14 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: california drug arrest records prior to marijuana decriminalization

Marijuana has not been "decriminalized", so the premise of your question is incorrect. The state does allow possession of small amounts of marijuana with a doctor's prescription, but you surely didn't have such a prescription in 1969. Even if you did it wouldn't help you now, since the medical marijuana law was not retroactive. Your arrest record was probably deleted in the normal course of events, as such minor drug crimes are typically purged from the state's records after a while.

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Answered on 8/24/08, 6:10 pm
Jacek W. Lentz Law Offices of Jacek W. Lentz

Re: california drug arrest records prior to marijuana decriminalization

In California there is a statute which mandates destruction of records relating to certain marijuana arrests and convictions. While I am not certain the statute was in place in 1969 perhaps that is the reason why no records can be found.

To make sure no state records exist, I would contact the Department of Justice in Sacramento which has records of all state convictions. Costs about $25 to get a report from them.

Best,

Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.

310.273.1361

www.lentzlawfirm.com

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Answered on 8/24/08, 1:30 am


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