Attorneys at The Legal Aid Society and marijuana legalization advocates across the state are calling on New York legislators to automatically remove past marijuana convictions from a person’s criminal record, as reported by Rochester First.

The pressure follows pledges by lawmakers to address the criminal justice concerns of communities of color as they negotiate over measures to officially legalize recreational use of marijuana in New York State.

“If we don’t have automatic expungement, many people are going to walk around still having that scarlet letter on their backs,” said Legal Aid attorney Anne Oredeko.