Newark resident Andre Hunter was thrilled to learn that an offense for possession of marijuana for which he was convicted in 2004 might have been cleared from the court’s public records — meaning he would no longer have to report it for college admission, while applying for a job or on a housing application. Expungement, Hunter said, opens doors he thought were forever closed.
The marijuana-related records of 362,000 people have been expunged since July 1, when the marijuana decriminalization law went into effect in New Jersey. But like Hunter, very few are aware of the change to their records. That’s why the New Jersey Courts launched an awareness campaign to get the word out.
