Bermuda lets people apply to clear old cannabis possession convictions

Bermuda opened a legal route to clear qualifying old cannabis convictions when its expungement law took effect on 11 March 2021. People convicted of simple possession of seven grams or less for conduct before 20 December 2017 could apply for a ministerial order. Online applications followed on 12 March.

Decriminalisation had left earlier records behind

The 2017 possession reform removed criminal liability for a small amount going forward. It left older convictions in place, with potential consequences for work, education and travel.

The later law allowed affected people to seek relief from those records. The government presented it as part of a social-justice programme addressing the legacy of cannabis convictions, including their disproportionate effect on Black men.

Although the legislation was passed in 2020, commencement depended on a later notice. The law’s operative date was March 2021, when the application arrangements were put in place.

Applicants needed an individual decision

An application had to identify the applicant and provide details of the conviction. The minister could request further information and decide whether to grant or refuse an order.

An appropriate person could apply on behalf of someone who had died or had a physical or mental disability. A refusal required written reasons, and an applicant could appeal to the Supreme Court within twenty-one days of notification.

This process made the decision individual to the applicant and the qualifying offence. Completing a form began the review; an expungement order produced the legal effect.

An order changed how the conviction could be used

From the date of the order, Bermuda law treated the person as not having committed, been prosecuted for, convicted of or sentenced for the offence. The law restricted evidence and questions about the expunged conviction in local proceedings.

It also protected people against employment prejudice based on that conviction or their failure to disclose it. Officials faced restrictions on disclosing protected record information.

The government said it could not guarantee how US immigration authorities would treat records they already held. Bermuda’s legal relief operated under Bermuda law.

Missing information became the next obstacle

The authorities warned that older files could be incomplete, archived, damaged or insufficiently detailed. Some records did not identify the weight of cannabis, making the seven-gram test difficult to apply.

Regulations in November 2023 created a presumption for certain low-penalty convictions where weight was missing. The reform in Bermuda thus developed from removing a possession offence to establishing an application process, then repairing an evidential problem that prevented some applicants benefiting.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}