Tucson event Saturday to focus on expungement of low-level marijuana crime

More options are popping up for people charged and convicted of low-level marijuana crimes. One of those will be an expungement clinic hosted by Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik and the nation’s largest nonprofit marijuana advocacy organization.

The clinic will be at the Ward 6 office at 3202 E. First St. on Saturday, July 31, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Masks will be required, and social distancing protocols will be enforced because of the spike in COVID-19 cases.

There is no cost to attend the clinic, and anyone with a low-level marijuana arrest, charge or conviction anywhere in Arizona is eligible to petition the appropriate jurisdiction for expungement. Out-of-state and federal charges are not eligible.

The clinic came about after a meeting with Kozachik; Mike Robinette, chair of the Arizona chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML; and Patrick Robles, community outreach director for the Pima County Attorney’s Office.

After a discussion that included whether or not the County Attorney’s Office would participate and co-sponsor the event, an agreement was reached by all parties that the clinic would not include the prosecutor’s office.

“There’s no animosity between the County Attorney’s Office and NORML,” Kozachik said. “It’s just that we’re all being sensitive to some of the concerns of the people who are coming.

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“There is still some concern by some people who are coming in for the expungement, that if they’re doing it through the Pima County Attorney’s Office and they have other convictions on their record, that the attorney’s office might be obligated to act on those,” Kozachik said.

One benefit of having NORML as co-sponsor is that its volunteer attorneys and legal assistants can assist people with cases.

“If they have a minor marijuana conviction in the state of Arizona, we can certainly help with that in any county, municipal court or superior court,” Robinette said.

Ultimately, he and Kozachik see these expungement clinics as part of a positive step toward social restoration for people who might have been affected by a relatively minor crime that is no longer illegal since Arizona voters approved Proposition 207 in 2020 to legalize recreational marijuana use.

“It’s like there’s a barnacle on your hull,” Kozachik said. “I mean for the rest of your life, you’ve got this thing hanging on you that pops up every time you apply for a job or a loan or, you know, whatever.”