At the beginning of October, President Joe Biden gave a pardon of all prior federal offenses for those incarcerate for simple possession of marijuana. He is currently directing the Attorney General Merrick Brian Garland to develop an administrative process for the issuance of certificates of pardon to eligible individuals.
Before Ab-1793 was passed into law, Proposition 64 (Health & Safety Code § 11361.8) allowed individuals with marijuana convictions to petition the court for the reduction or dismissal of their marijuana convictions. However, until an LA Times news probe found that tens of thousands of Californians still had felonies, misdemeanors and other cannabis related charges on their records that still had not been expunged, even after submitting the paperwork to start the process.