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U.S. NEWS Friday 9 February 2018

Seattle clears pot convictions, following San Francisco lead

reational use, and some, in- 500 and 600 over the span
cluding Oregon, California of about 13 years, Holmes
and Colorado, have made said. They date from about
it easier for people to peti- 1997, when the Legislature
tion to have their pot con- dictated that municipal
victions vacated or sealed. courts, rather than county
But Seattle, San Francisco district courts, would han-
and San Diego appear to dle those misdemeanors,
be the only major jurisdic- and 2010 — when Holmes
tions erasing convictions became city attorney and
without even requiring the stopped prosecuting low-
defendants to request it. level pot cases entirely.
Seattle has long taken a le- “I have never filed one —
nient view of marijuana. It's except, as we understood
been home to HempFest, it, one slipped by in that first
a "protestival" where huge few days in office, where a
crowds of people openly plea was entered,” he said.
smoke pot, since 1991. And “I’m anxious to find that
in 2003, voters passed a particular one to make sure
measure making minor pot it’s teed up, right up front.”
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, second right, greets pastors Robert Jeffrey, left, Wilhelmina Daniel crimes the Seattle Police That said, he encouraged
and Ricky Willis before beginning a news conference announcing plans for the city to move to Department's lowest prior- anyone who believes
vacate misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Seattle. ity. they have a low-level King
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) The city doesn't actually County marijuana convic-
By GENE JOHNSON education," Mayor Jenny Eight states have now le- have that many convic- tion to contact his office for
Associated Press Durkan told a news confer- galized marijuana for rec- tions to clear: between help having it erased. q
SEATTLE (AP) — More than ence. "It is a necessary step
five years after Washing- to right the wrongs of what
ton state legalized mari- was a failed war on drugs."
juana, Seattle officials said City Attorney Pete Holmes,
Thursday they're moving to who was one of the spon-
automatically clear past sors of Washington's 2012
misdemeanor convictions ballot measure to legalize
for pot possession — a step pot for recreational use,
similarly announced by San said he's been pressing
Francisco last week. since it passed for a state
"For thousands of people in law that would help clear
Washington state, a misde- prior convictions. But the
meanor marijuana convic- Legislature has yet to act,
tion had huge implications: and Holmes said he hoped
It could be a barrier to the city's action would spur
housing, to getting credit, other jurisdictions and the
to getting good jobs and state itself.

California officials, protesters

fight over offshore drill plans

By JONATHAN J. COOPER California's State Lands
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Commission controls the
— Commissions that over- first 3 miles (4.8 kilometers)
see coastal lands and offshore, at which point
water pushed the Trump federal jurisdiction kicks in.
administration to leave It has not allowed drilling in
California out of plans to the state-controlled waters
expand offshore drilling, since a 1969 oil spill near
warning the state would Santa Barbara. "Given how
block the construction of unpopular oil develop-
pipelines needed to get oil ment in coastal waters is in
back to land. California, it is certain that
Interior Secretary Ryan Zin- the state would not ap-
ke wants to open nearly all prove new pipelines or al-
U.S. coastlines to offshore low use of existing pipelines
oil and gas drilling. to transport oil from new
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean leases onshore," the three
Energy Management has land commission members
proposed six sales of drill- — Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom,
ing rights off the California State Controller Better Yee
coast and a seventh off Or- and Director of Finance Mi-
egon and Washington be- chael Cohen — wrote in a
tween 2020 and 2023. Wednesday letter. q