The city of Denver will help thousands of people clear low-level marijuana convictions from their criminal records through an online program and a series of clinics.

It will be one of the first such efforts in Colorado, along with a similar push in Boulder. And it’s part of what Mayor Michael Hancock describes as a broader effort to reverse the impact of the “war on drugs” and help the marijuana industry evolve.

“There are a lot of young men and women of color who are in this city and around the state of Colorado who today can’t get certain jobs — can’t be gainfully employed in the marijuana industry — because they have these low-level marijuana convictions on their records that today are legal,” Hancock said.

The program will allow people who were charged in Denver to completely erase convictions for acts that are now legal in Colorado. It applies to charges like small-scale possession of marijuana or paraphernalia prior to legalization, which voters approved in 2012.

“It’s more than just helping people,” said District Attorney Beth McCann. “We are proactively saying to the community, in the interest of justice and fairness, we’re going to agree and the courts are going to grant motions to seal and vacate.”

It’s not just that records will be removed from public view. Instead, charges will be fully vacated.

“What that does it that it means there’s really never a conviction at all,” McCann said.

While Coloradans have limited options for sealing criminal records, vacating charges is often difficult or impossible.

There may be 13,000 people eligible for Denver’s program, but the city expects a smaller number to participate.

People can submit an application through a new city website or attend in-person clinics to be hosted around the city over the next few months. The program is free and requires only a driver’s license or other government-issued photo ID.

McCann suggests that people attend the in-person clinics, where they also can meet with an immigration attorney and a defense attorney to make sure there aren’t any legal complications.

Once people submit paperwork, the DA’s office will bring requests to a judge who will clear eligible records.

Officials decided not to attempt to automatically clear all the records. People have to submit applications because the city otherwise would have had to pay an outside company to search for eligible cases. The chosen approach will not require special funding or resources, according to McCann. The effort took about 18 months of preparation, Hancock said.

New Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is working with the legislature on a bill that would do something similar statewide.

Hancock said the city program could address one common complaint about Colorado’s legalization process: Black and Latino communities were heavily affected by marijuana enforcement, and now they deal with the smells and impacts of cannabis facilities, but they are under-represented as employees and owners of the industry.

“You know, we’ve had people who have come from outside the state of Colorado and have looked at our industry and go ‘Boy, you guys look awfully white,” Hancock said. “How do you open this opportunity up for other folks to be full participants?”

He has asked his staff to look for more ways to diversify the industry, he said. It’s part of Hancock’s larger attempt to influence and be involved with marijuana policy nationwide, including on issues such as banking.

“I did not support the legalization of recreational marijuana. I’ve been very clear about that,” Hancock said. “At the end of the day, however, we legalized it, and now we need to make sure that we have a responsible and accountable policy.”

How to participate

Go online: Denvergov.org/ANewLeaf.

Attend a clinic: Applicants must bring government-issued photo identification such as a driver’s license. If they are eligible to have their case vacated, prosecutors or city attorneys will draft documents on their behalf.

Feb. 9 — 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Denver Conflict Center, 4140 Tejon St.

Feb. 24 — 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Denver Park Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, 3385 Albion St.

March 6 — 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Servicios de La Raza, 31331 W. 14th Ave.

March 21 — 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Cultivated Synergy, 2901 Walnut St.

Staff writer Anna Staver contributed.