When Illinois legalized recreational cannabis, Governor JB Pritzker made it clear that the state’s intention was not only to open a legal market for the drug, but also to ensure that people who had been arrested or convicted of marijuana-related offenses had their records erased. “We are ending the 50-year war on cannabis,” Pritzker said in December of last year. Now, going through the deregistration process will be a little easier, thanks to a publicly funded program that will provide free legal services to those convicted of marijuana. New Leaf Illinois is a collective of 20 organizations like Prairie State Legal Services and the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic.

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