Seth Rogen is here to help clear your criminal record.
This week, September 21st through September 28th, is the second annual National Expungement Week (NEW). And according to Marijuna Moment, Rogen has joined the cause to try and help millions of Americans shed their police records and cannabis convictions. In a recent public service announcement raising awareness for NEW programs, Rogen noted that 77 million Americans currently live with criminal records and experience the long-term effects of those charges, while also stressing a nationwide need for reconciliation.
“A large amount of these records are for minor offences, and seriously impede millions of people’s ability to live, restricting people’s access to jobs, housing, education, and the right to vote,” Rogen told viewers. “It doesn’t help them, and it doesn’t help the country.”
Rogen has been an outspoken advocate for cannabis legalization since he hit it big on the silver screen. The Canadian actor also joined Canada’s growing green rush with his own cannabis company, Houseplant. But even with two feet planted in the legal industry, Rogen wants to make sure that his American neighbors have the same opportunities he’s had, no matter their petty criminal history.
Gallery — The Famous and 420-Friendly:
“There’s just millions and millions of people in America who can’t vote, who can’t get a job, who can’t do things that many, many people take for granted because they have been arrested for something that isn’t illegal anymore,” Rogen told VICE in an interview about his advocacy efforts. “To us, that is just unacceptable. Weed should never have been illegal in the first place, that’s the premise that we operate under.”
National Expungement Week events are currently taking place in cities across the country, with criminal justice advocates and volunteers gathering to help citiziens clear or seal their past convictions. For more information on where to find an event closest to you, check out the NEW website here.
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