CHICAGO (AP) _ Days before marijuana becomes legal in Illinois, the top prosecutor in the state’s largest county has filed motions to vacate more than 1,000 low-level marijuana possession convictions. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx appeared in court Wednesday. Other prosecutors across the country have taken the same step, employing technology to evaluate cases and remove minor marijuana convictions from people’s records. Foxx and others say this is especially important to minority communities that have been hit hardest by what she called the “failed war on drugs.”
Chicago prosecutor to vacate 1,000 marijuana convictions

Marijuana related stocks have been surging lately because a lot of people believe cannabis will be legalized in the United States soon. CREDIT: Michael Swensen/Boston Globe via Getty Images