Cook County continues to expunge marijuana convictions amid 4/20 holiday

CHICAGO - Wednesday is the "marijuana holiday" 4/20.

With cannabis being legal in Illinois, there is a push to help people get their drug convictions expunged.

Thousands of people in Cook County with marijuana convictions have had their records wiped clean as part of "The Cannabis Expungement Project."

This Friday, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx will add 214 cases to that list, bringing the total number of expunged cases to more than 15,000.

The effort started back in December 2019, just weeks before recreational marijuana was legalized in Illinois.

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Today — on 4/20 — some are celebrating just that.

In Mundelein, Green Thumb celebrated the grand opening of its cannabis lounge — the first of its kind to open in the Chicago area.

On Weed Street in Chicago, customers of one local dispensary say they agree with the move to expunge cannabis convictions.

"I think it’s good. I think people were getting in trouble for petty, like a gram of weed, that’s nothing in my opinion, when there’s people drinking and driving every weekend. So yeah, I think it’s good. It’s definitely good for the city and for the community," said Henri Bersson.

According to Foxx's office, there are 588 cannabis convictions that remain in the system — dating back to the 60s.

They are working to get those expunged, but need to do some additional research to do so.