BCA seals records under Adult-Use Cannabis Act
May 29, 2024
Minnesota criminal history records that qualify for automatic expungement under the Adult-Cannabis Act are no longer visible in the in the Minnesota Criminal History System (CHS) except as allowed by law or court order.
Our Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has expunged (also referred to as sealing) 57,780 records in the CHS almost three months ahead of schedule. The Minnesota Judicial Branch determined that 213 records should not be expunged.
The law expunges more than just cannabis-related offenses, because drug offenses are not always broken out by drug type. Also, certain felony drug possession offenses may qualify if the case resolved in the person’s favor or were dismissed.
“We are pleased to be able to deliver on this legislative priority,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said. “Minnesotans will see changes to their records immediately and as additional expungements are made in the months and years ahead.”
Since the Adult-Use Cannabis Act became law on Aug. 1, 2023, we have worked to identify all records in the state’s CHS that qualify for automatic expungement. Meanwhile, our tech-savvy staff completed extensive coding changes to the system so that qualifying records could be sealed.
We’ve notified the judicial branch that those records have been sealed and have provided local criminal justice agencies with a list of those records so that they can be expunged in their own systems.
There are additional records — mostly cannabis-related felonies — that qualify for review by the independent Cannabis Expungement Board, which will consider whether resentencing or expungements are appropriate under the law. Because each record must be considered individually, this process could take several years to complete.
We’ve posted a notice on all records in the CHS, letting those who view the records know about the possibility of future changes under the Adult-Use Cannabis Act. We’ll review records again in 2025 to seal any additional records that were still going through the court system during the 2024 expungement process.
We’re also working on expunging records as required by a second law enacted in 2023 by the Minnesota Legislature, the Clean Slate Act. Under that law — which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2025 — certain records that currently require a court order to be sealed will qualify for automatic expungement. We anticipate meeting the January deadline.
People can request copies of their own records held in the BCA system at any time, including after records are expunged. Other access to expunged records in the CHS requires a court order.
We will continue to provide updates throughout this process on the Expungements page on the BCA website. You can learn more about our records on the CHS Frequently Asked Questions page.
