{"id":8777,"date":"2019-05-18T22:53:58","date_gmt":"2019-05-18T22:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=3465764"},"modified":"2019-05-18T22:53:58","modified_gmt":"2019-05-18T22:53:58","slug":"new-denver-program-can-make-old-marijuana-conviction-disappear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/new-denver-program-can-make-old-marijuana-conviction-disappear\/","title":{"rendered":"New Denver program can make old marijuana conviction disappear"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/new-denver-program-can-make-old-marijuana-conviction-disappear\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/05\/18\/denver-marijuana-convictions-turn-over-new-leaf\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dp-news-marijuana+%28Denver+Post%3A+News%3A+Marijuana%29&amp;utm_content=Google+UK#comments-anchor\"><span class=\"spot-im-replies-count\" data-post-id=\"3465764\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After Dane Jordan was convicted of illegally growing marijuana 13 years ago, he gave up his dream of becoming a psychologist. After all, medical boards don\u2019t readily hand out Ph.D.s to convicted felons.<\/p>\n<p>He couldn\u2019t rent certain apartments. He didn\u2019t even bother applying to most jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan\u2019s life was altered irrevocably by his decision to grow a few plants with no product on them. And years after his conviction, he continued to suffer the repercussions of a law that no longer existed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt basically destroyed my whole life,\u201d Jordan said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3465928\" class=\"wp-caption alignright size-article_inline_third\"><img class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/new-denver-program-can-make-old-marijuana-conviction-disappear.jpg\" alt=\"Dane Jordan waits to meet with ...\" width=\"4282\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/new-denver-program-can-make-old-marijuana-conviction-disappear.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/new-denver-program-can-make-old-marijuana-conviction-disappear.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/05182019_bruce_TONL_0011-002.jpg?fit=210%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 210w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<p>Kenzie Bruce, Special to the Denver Post<\/p>\n<p>Dane Jordan waits to meet with Denver Chief Deputy DA Michael Song at the city\u2019s Turn Over a New Leaf program on May 18, 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But on Saturday, Jordan sat down at a folding table in the Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club in Denver\u2019s Montbello neighborhood and took the first step toward wiping the drug offense off his record. He became the latest participant in the city\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/01\/09\/denver-marijuana-cases-expunged\/\">Turn Over a New Leaf Program<\/a>,\u201d an effort to help those convicted of low-level marijuana offenses prior to legalization start fresh. Denver\u2019s initiative, along with a similar program in Boulder, are the first of its kind in the state.<\/p>\n<p>Since the program launched in February, 84 people have qualified to get their convictions completely erased. Saturday marked the program\u2019s fifth and final in-person clinic \u2014 although people can still apply <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denvergov.org\/content\/denvergov\/en\/denver-marijuana-information\/DenverMarijuanaEquityandSocialJustice\/TurnOverANewLeafProgram.html\">online<\/a> and city officials said they can plan more clinics if there\u2019s enough interest. The program has no end date.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan, 35, was so excited to clear his record officially that he flew in from Massachusetts to sign on the dotted line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor people like me, it\u2019s an easy path to put it behind you, to move on,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re no longer a criminal in the eyes of the law. It\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jordan first heard about \u201cTurn Over a New Leaf\u201d while watching the news in February.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf that becomes real,\u201d Jordan thought, \u201cI\u2019m going to sign up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, Jordan, with his brother and young niece watching from folding chairs across the gym, sat down with a Denver city attorney to finalize his paperwork. The entire process is free, thanks to contributions from the Marijuana Industry Group and others.<\/p>\n<p>When the city announced the program three months ago, officials estimated 13,000 people would be eligible, although they expected a smaller number to participate. To date, 323 people have applied to the program, according to city data, but nearly two-thirds of the applicants have been ineligible, mostly because their convictions were outside of Denver, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Eric Escudero, spokesman for the city\u2019s Department of Excise Licences and Office of Marijuana Policy, said that, compared with other cities with similar programs, Denver has performed well. He admitted, however, that it\u2019s been a challenge reaching everybody who could benefit from the program. For some, maybe it hasn\u2019t affected their lives. For others, there\u2019s the trust factor with going back to the same government that slapped charges on them in the first place.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>\u201cIf I lived in a perfect world, we\u2019d have every person,\u201d Escudero said. \u201cBut we\u2019re determined to push forward and help as many people as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last month, to reach more people, the city began an outreach effort in Denver jails. Of the 84 people who have qualified so far, 37 have been inmates, Escudero said.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan wonders what his life might have looked like without his conviction. Maybe he\u2019s a successful psychologist. Maybe not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is who I am,\u201d Jordan said. \u201cAnd this is part of my life. But I don\u2019t want it to be anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>The city&#8217;s &#8220;Turn Over a New Leaf Program&#8221; helps those convicted of low-level marijuana offenses prior to legalization start fresh. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2163,8160,7347,6811,6812,376,7143,1964,6813,77,6814,6815,5667,9,5019,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[4731,8161,7348,6816,6817,2954,7144,4532,6818,2655,6819,6820,5673,5022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8777"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8777\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}