Nearly 26,000 people with felony marijuana convictions on their records in San Diego County had them reduced to misdemeanors last month.
In addition some 1,000 people with misdemeanor cannabis convictions had their cases completely dismissed, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Sunday.
The reductions and dismissals were made official in a three-page order signed by San Diego Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide on Feb. 5, the newspaper said.
The order came nearly a year after the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office submitted a list of cases eligible for relief as part of a state law that was an outgrowth of Proposition 64, the 2016 voter-approved measure that legalized some marijuana use.
The law requires the Department of Justice and local prosecutors to compile and review all eligible cases and submit the list to local courts by July 1 last year, but the process was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While the charges have been altered it may take some time to update individual court records to reflect the changes and the court system is now working through those logistics, the newspaper said.