Over 205,000 Drug Convictions In Washington Could Be Cleared

Back in 2021, the Washington State Supreme Court decided that the state's criminal drug possession law was found to be unconstitutional. The result, if you have a criminal drug possession conviction in your past, you might be able to get that conviction vacated. 

According to axios.com,
‘Hundreds of thousands of drug convictions became eligible to be cleared after Washington state's criminal drug law was struck down in 2021 — but fewer than half have been vacated, and the state money that helps people navigate the process is running low. Because vacating a conviction isn't automatic, people often need legal help and education to make it happen — and Washington's budget-strapped state government has been cutting funding for that work. 

As of today (12/24/25) based on data supplied by the Washington State Patrol, more than 205,000 Washington state drug convictions are currently eligible to be vacated. That means wiped from your record, and any resulting fines would be paid back to you as well. 

Almost 125,000 previous convictions have already been vacated so far. 

It's thought that many people that are affected by this ruling don't even know that it took place and don't have the money needed to hire a lawyer to get the help they need to have their conviction vacated. 

The state did have a process that was going to be put into place to help these people navigate the system in order to get the help they needed. However, because of the budget crunch, all the funding went away, and they are now pretty much on their own. 

With the 2026 Washington state budget also showing a significant shortfall, it's hard to believe that any funding will be put forward to help these individuals next year.