Just recently, the state of Illinois decided that they were going to expunge at least 500k cannabis-related convictions for people in the region. This means that thousands of low level cannabis arrest records are going to be expunged and people are going to be given a new chance at life, hopefully a better chance to find jobs and a good place to live.

Expunging those thousands of records around the state, and the country, is the least that authorities could do after having engaged in a multi-decade war on natural rights, policing personal consumption habits, growing habits, buying habits etc, all activities related to cannabis.

The Economic Impact

As more restrictions surrounding cannabis continue to change, be reduced, or tossed away completely, this means that more opportunity can come to this industry.

Already, without federal decriminalization or legalization, the changes have spawned incredible prosperity for many states, families, and businesses that have gotten into the cannabis market.

It has also brought value to millions of customers that use cannabis for a wide range of reasons, people of all different ages and backgrounds. The benefits that come with a change in the war on cannabis have already been felt, seen, and especially for those who have arrest records expunged.

Cannabis arrests inflict millions of dollars in damages, and these policies impact millions of people. It has been found that being incarcerated over something like cannabis charges, though non-violent, might result in at least a 30 percent reduction in wage growth over a person's lifetime. Not only that but it is going to be harder for them to get a job to begin with, many applications ask if you have been arrested previously and not every employer is understanding and open to hear why that might have been.

The same goes for trying to get a place to live, someone who had been arrested over a joint in their pocket might have an incredibly difficult life now in terms of getting a decent housing situation, or finding a better job. Reducing that difficulty brings incredible economic benefit to hundreds of thousands if not more.

This is already a multi-billion dollar industry and various surveys show that Americans are overwhelmingly in support, ready to see that change for cannabis legalization. It doesn't make sense to spend billions of dollars yearly on policing cannabis any longer, or filling up prisons with peaceful cannabis users and growers. It never made sense to begin with, it has been a corrupt policy that goes against natural rights all along. The sooner those restrictions can be reduced, and records expunged, the better off many people and communities are going to be because of it.

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