New York Courts Accepting Requests to Destroy Marijuana Arrest Records

Arrests for two lower-level weed charges have been expunged and the records sealed, but if you want those records destroyed altogether, there’s a form to fill out.

Last year, New York expunged thousands of convictions for two lower-level marijuana-related charges and sealed the records associated with those cases. As of now, no one can see those records unless you apply to become a police officer or to get a pistol permit.

The law also allows people convicted of those two charges–Criminal Possession of Marijuana in the Fifth Degree (Penal Law 221.10) and  Unlawful Possession of Marihuana (Penal Law 221.05)–can also request the destruction arrest, prosecution and criminal history records related to a conviction on either of those charges.

On Friday, the state court system opened up the applications for those wishing to have the records destroyed. It requires filling out this form and filing it in person or by mail at the courthouse where the conviction occurred. 

The expungement and option of records destruction only apply to convictions on those two charges, which have been renamed Unlawful Possession of Marihuana in the First Degree and Unlawful Possession of Marihuana in the Second Degree, respectively.