Colorado’s Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper says the state is moving forward with efforts to dismiss marijuana convictions for non-violent offenders. “It’s roughly 40 cases where we can be absolutely sure there was no violence involved in the sentencing,” Hickenlooper told Cheddar. Earlier in the day, Hickenlooper met with other state governors on the matter. This comes on the heels of San Francisco’s District Attorney announcing the dismissal of more than 3,000 marijuana convictions dating back to 1975. Recreational marijuana is legal in both California and Colorado. Hickenlooper pointed out the financial burden these marijuana convictions have had on the criminal justice system. “This country spends $80 billion a year, if you include jails and prisons, on all the kinds of incarceration," he said. Hickenlooper believes dismissing these convictions will cut back on prison costs and will help reintegrate non-violent offenders back into society. The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-colorado-governor-john-hickenlooper-says-amazon-is-missing-out-if-it-doesnt-pick-denver-for-hq2).
