Comments for the Record for “Decriminalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level: Necessary Steps to Address Past Harms”
Dear Chairman Booker, Ranking Member Cotton, and Members of the Subcommittee:
On behalf of the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys (NAAUSA), representing the interests of the over 6,300 Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) working in the 94 U.S. Attorney Offices, we write to provide comments on the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act’s proposal to expunge marijuana convictions at the federal level.
NAAUSA does not support or oppose federal marijuana decriminalization. We believe this is a question properly left in the hands of Congress. As Congress considers expunging past marijuana convictions, we write to discuss (1) common misconceptions about the nature of federal marijuana convictions, (2) the impact of expungement on the criminal process, and (3) resource constraints that make expungement burdensome to the administration of justice. …
