Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., state lawmakers are holding a public hearing on H 5307 (along with several other bills) in the House Judiciary Committee. This legislation, introduced by Rep. Anastasia Williams and co-sponsored by other members of the House, would direct the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to expunge all past misdemeanors and felony cases involving cannabis.

We have known for years that marijuana prohibition laws disproportionately harm communities of color. A 2013 ACLU report analyzing FBI arrest data found that black Rhode Islanders were nearly three times more likely to be arrested than whites for marijuana possession from 2001 to 2010. State Representatives Anastasia Williams and Marcia Ranglin-Vassell have introduced legislation (H 5795, H 6069, H 6070, and H 6073) to address the disparate impacts of marijuana prohibition, and tomorrow afternoon,…