FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–October 25, 2023

Saturday Event to Help Provide Cheaper, Easier Expungements for Marijuana Possession Arrests 

This Saturday, October 28, at 10:00 a.m. at the Ashe͑ Power House Theater (1731 Baronne St. in Central City), elected officials & community organizations will host an event to put State Rep. Delisha Boyd’s House Bill 286, which makes it easier & cheaper to expunge first-time, simple marijuana convictions, into action. 

NEW ORLEANS, LA | October 25, 2023—For too long in Louisiana, arrests for minor offenses like simple marijuana possession have held people back, making it more difficult for them to pursue employment, housing, and educational opportunities. But with the leadership of State Rep. Delisha Boyd in passing House Bill 286 during this year’s legislative session, it’s now easier and cheaper to remedy that injustice. This Saturday, elected officials and community and advocacy organizations will host an event to put Rep. Boyd’s bill into action.

New Orleans Councilmember Helena Moreno, who has been a leader on marijuana reform in the city, will co-host the event with Rep. Boyd and local community and advocacy organizations, including the Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, Louisiana Progress, New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, Last Prisoner Project, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, and the Marijuana Policy Project, this Saturday, October 28, with sign-in beginning at 10 a.m. at the Ashe͑ Power House Theater, located at 1731 Baronne St. in Central City, to help people expunge arrests for first-time, simple marijuana possession from their records. 

They will be joined in their effort by Clerk of Court Darren Lombard, District Attorney Jason Williams, and Sheriff Susan Hutson, who have all agreed to waive the portion of the expungement fee their offices receive for one week after the event to make those expungements even cheaper. During the week after the event, participants can expect to pay $50 for a first-time, simple marijuana expungement or $250 for another type of expungement, instead of the standard $300 for first-time, simple marijuana (lower rate due to Rep. Boyd’s bill) and $550 for all other expungements.

“While more than 20 other states have a legal, thriving adult-use marijuana industry, Louisiana continues to allow this type of minor conviction to be a significant obstacle in people’s lives,” according to Rep. Boyd. “This event is a great way to help people clear their records and tell the entire state about the opportunity for this type of relief.”

"I'm thrilled to partner with these tremendous organizations to help provide our community an opportunity for a new start through expungement,” said City Council Vice-President Helena Moreno. “Even after we pardoned tens of thousands of New Orleanians from cannabis charges and essentially decriminalized simple cannabis possession in New Orleans with my legislation in 2021, we knew there was more we needed to do to truly deliver justice and clear people’s names. This is just the beginning, and I look forward to more of these essential events in the future." 

"My expungement has helped me with opportunities to get a job where it doesn't come up, or a person doesn't look at you differently when you're applying for work,” according to one Justice & Accountability Center client, who demonstrates just how important these expungements, and this type of event, are to people’s lives. “You know, because it's kind of hard if a person sees something, even if it was years ago, they still judge you from that."

“After working with State Representative Cedric Glover to help him pass his bill to decriminalize simple marijuana possession in 2021, we all recognized how absurd it was to continue to have that type of charge lingering on people’s records and serving as a roadblock in their lives,” said Peter Robins-Brown, executive director of Louisiana Progress. “Representative Boyd did an amazing job building on that framework to continue moving Louisiana in the right direction on this issue. Now we get to make it a reality for the people of New Orleans.”

The event is first come, first served. To be eligible, all participants will need to bring Orleans Parish documentation of their expungement packet from the Orleans Parish Criminal District Clerk of Court OR their case management and court minutes from Municipal Court. For more information call (504) 930-4013.

Who: State Representative Delisha Boyd, Councilmember Helena Moreno, Clerk of Court Darren Lombard, District Attorney Jason Williams, Sheriff Susan Hutson, Louisiana Progress, Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, Last Prisoner Project, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, Marijuana Policy Project

What: Event to expunge first-time simple marijuana convictions

Where: Ashe Power House Theater, 1731 Baronne St., New Orleans, LA 70113

When: October 25, 2023

Contacts: 

Peter Robins-Brown, Executive Director, Louisiana Progress, (504) 256-8196, peter@louisianaprogress.org