DENVER – Some people convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana can ask for those convictions to be thrown out under the law that legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado, the state’s second-highest court ruled Thursday.
The Colorado Court of Appeals said people whose cases were under appeal when Amendment 64 took effect in December 2012 are eligible to have their convictions reversed.
The ruling could affect hundreds of people who were given jail terms for petty marijuana possession, and some inmates could be released, said Brian Vicente, one of the amendment’s authors. “This is a huge victory,” he said.
Vicente said Colorado prosecuted as many as 9,000 cases a year for marijuana possession. After it was decriminalized, a number of appeals were still in the courts.
Prosecutors were trying to determine how many cases could be affected after the ruling. They also were reviewing the opinion to determine any next steps, said Carolyn Tyler, a spokeswoman for Attorney General John Suthers.