PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Attorney's Office says nearly 6,000 cases are impacted by Proposition 207, meaning many, if not all, related charges in those cases will be dropped.
MCAO announced Monday it will dismiss all pending and unfiled charges of possession of marijuana after voters passed Prop 207, which legalizes recreational marijuana in the state.
MCAO also says it will drop all associated paraphernalia charges before its office as well.
The office said Tuesday they expect most of the charges covered by Prop 207 will be dropped, but they have to review each one individually.
A "significant number" of cases involving charges covered by Prop 207 include other felony charges, so only the charges covered will be dismissed, not the entire case.
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MCAO broke down the numbers of cases even further, saying:
- About 3,500 bench warrants include charges impacted by Prop 207. If the bench warrant is only for charges covered, it will be dismissed now.
- About 1,400 charges are in preliminary hearing stage. MCAO is waiting for determination of probable cause.
- About 1,000 charges have been submitted with charges not yet filed. MCAO says they will be able to reverse the decision before charges are filed.
- About 180 cases are in trial phase, including charges covered by Prop 207.
MCAO says the exact number of cases and charges impacted by Prop 207 will be determined as each case is gone through individually, and these are just estimates.
