Connecticut Cannabis and Marijuana Conviction Erasure

Two Tracks for Cannabis Record Relief

When Connecticut legalized adult-use cannabis through Public Act 21-1 in 2021, the law included a retroactive erasure provision for people convicted under the old prohibition. But the erasure doesn't work the same way for everyone — there are two separate tracks depending on the specific charge and when the offense occurred.

Understanding which track applies to your case determines whether your record should already be gone or whether you need to take action.

Automatic Erasure: Possession Under 4 Ounces (2000–2015)

If your simple-possession offense involving four ounces or less of cannabis occurred between January 1, 2000, and September 30, 2015, your record was scheduled for automatic erasure by January 1, 2023. The state's automated system was supposed to purge these records from both Judicial Branch and DESPP databases without any action required from you.

The implementation was delayed along with the broader Clean Slate system due to the state's database integration challenges. As the broader Clean Slate system became operational, DESPP reported by early 2026 that more than 150,000 old, low-level convictions had been automatically erased.

If your possession offense falls within this window — post-2000, pre-October 2015, four ounces or less — it should already be gone. Verify by checking the Connecticut Judicial Branch's public case lookup or by ordering your official criminal history from the State Police Bureau of Identification using Form DPS-0846-C.

Petition-Based Erasure: Everything Else

Three categories of cannabis offenses require you to file a petition with the sentencing court rather than relying on automatic processing:

Pre-2000 possession. Cannabis possession offenses from before January 1, 2000, are excluded from the automated system because the state's digitized criminal history databases don't reliably cover that era. You'll need to file a petition with the court where the original case was adjudicated.

Possession between October 2015 and June 2021. Offenses during this window fall outside the automatic erasure date range and require a separate petition.

Possession with intent to sell. Even small-quantity possession charges that were filed as "possession with intent to distribute" aren't covered by the automatic track. The petition process applies regardless of the quantity involved.

For all three categories, you file a petition for cannabis erasure with the Superior Court that handled the original case. There's no filing fee and no waiting period — you can petition immediately.

What Cannabis Erasure Actually Does

Cannabis erasure works the same way as all Connecticut record erasure under C.G.S. § 54-142a. The arrest, court proceedings, and conviction are sealed from public access. You're legally deemed never to have been arrested for the erased matter, and you can deny the arrest under oath on employment, housing, and licensing applications.

The erasure covers the standard state-level records — Judicial Branch databases, DESPP criminal history files, and state police records — subject to statutory access exceptions. It does not reach federal databases. If your cannabis conviction was reported to the FBI or appears in federal immigration records, state erasure doesn't remove those entries.

If Your Record Is Still Showing

If your automatic-track cannabis conviction should have been erased but still appears on your criminal history, file Form DESPP-0847-C (Hearing for Clean Slate Erasure) with the DESPP Legal Affairs Unit. This triggers a manual audit of your case. Submit it by email to [email protected] or mail it to 1111 Country Club Road, Middletown, CT 06457.

Also check with private background screening companies. State-level erasure doesn't automatically propagate to commercial databases like those used by employers and landlords. If a background check company is still reporting an erased cannabis conviction, file a dispute under the Fair Credit Reporting Act — the company has 30 days to investigate and remove the entry.

The Connecticut Expungement & Record Sealing Guide covers both cannabis erasure tracks, the petition filing process, and FCRA dispute templates for forcing background check companies to update their records.

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