TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — If you walk a mile in Araceli’s shoes, you’ll realize her life at one point wasn’t exactly a breeze.
“I realized I was going to have to work a lot harder than other people,” she said.
She’s said that’s because of a charge she got for drug paraphernalia back in 2016.
Araceli doesn’t prefer to say her last name. She said having a record made it harder for her to find a job and made it tough for her to find a home.
“I was also having my money taken because I’d have to submit application fees,” Araceli said.
However, last year, Araceli got her record expunged.
“I felt like was…kind of like a little bit born again. I had a fresh start,” she said.
Now the Arizona Court of Appeals is giving people like Araceli the green light to get their records expunged if they sold marijuana illegally.
Jamie Ibrahim, an attorney and expungement advocate with the Reclaim Your Future campaign said they’re clarifying the law.
“This really just confirms what we believed since the passage of Prop 207,” Ibrahim said.
Prop 207 is what allowed adults to start using marijuana recreationally and lets some people people get their records expunged.
Ibrahim said people with a record for selling 2 and a half ounces or less of marijuana can now start applying for an expungement.
However, she said other things will be taken into consideration.
“What the arrest was for versus what the conviction is for. Sometimes those things are different,” she said.
She said the process to expunge the records will be the same as other marijuana-related charges that are eligible. As for the process, she said it will take a few months but can take longer if an appeal is needed.
As she walks free of any charges, Araceli said it’ll help people who illegally sold to others who needed medical marijuana.
“A lot of people that are charged with sales of marijuana are trying to help other people that don’t have a medical marijuana card,” she said.
She’s advising others with records to ask for help from organizations like Reclaim Your Future and use their resources.
“Don’t give up because there’s always hope. You won’t know until you find out, until you take on the process,” she said.
