SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – One western Mass. dispensary is teaming up with local legal clinics to help expunge the records of people who are affected by non-violent drug offenses.
6 Bricks cannabis dispensary and local lawyers held their first annual expungement clinic Sunday afternoon.
Head of community responsibility with 6 Bricks, Ariaun Stewart, told Western Mass News that the goal is to help those with non-violent drug offenses have those charges removed from their record.
“We wanted to do this because of the war on drugs,” Stewart said. “Black and brown folks have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, but this clinic is open to everyone today that wants to talk to an attorney about a non-violent drug offense.”
Senior supervising attorney with community legal aid, Alyssa Golden, told us that with marijuana now legal in the Bay State, those who were charged with marijuana-related crimes before its legalization find themselves not being able to get a job or an apartment.
“What we see sometimes is that people will be qualified for a job and they’ll be turned down because of something on their record, or they’ll get hired initially, and then, they’ll be told that, actually, they can’t move forward with employment because of something that shows up on their record,” Golden explained.
Stewart added that, as a cannabis dispensary, they feel a responsibility to do everything they can to help people get their record expunged for a now legal product and give back to the community that is supporting them.
“We’re acknowledging the fact that people have gone to jail and have served time for something that is now legal and we’re able to profit off of,” Stewart said. “We want to be able to give back to the community and really do that sustainable work.”
