ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore ordered more than 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions Monday, saying “the most comprehensive statewide pardon in any state” will help reverse past damage caused by marijuana. war on drugs.
During a news conference, Moore said the executive order will affect “tens of thousands of Marylanders” convicted of misdemeanors. Some may have had more than one conviction pardoned during the process.
“We are taking intentional, comprehensive and unapologetic action, and this is the largest action of its kind in our nation’s history,” said Moore, a Democrat.
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While pardons do not result in anyone being released from incarceration — nor do they result in prior convictions being automatically expunged from a person’s background check — advocates have praised the measure as a way to remove barriers to housing, employment or educational opportunities with based on convictions for conduct that is no longer illegal.
Heather Warnken, executive director of the Law Center for Criminal Justice Reform at the University of Baltimore School of Law. she described the pardons as “a victory for thousands of Marylanders who are starting from scratch to pursue education, employment and other forms of economic opportunity without the taint of a criminal conviction.”
Recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland in 2023 after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2022 with 67% of the vote. Maryland decriminalized possession of amounts of cannabis for personal use on January 1, 2023. Now, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis.
“This is about changing the way government and society view those who have been denied opportunities due to broken and unequal policies,” Moore said.
Moore said “legalization does not set back decades of damage caused by this war on drugs.”
He continued: “This does not erase the fact that black Marylanders were three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than white Marylanders before legalization. , everything from housing, employment and education.”
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Shiloh Jordan, who lost her job on her second day on the job after a minor marijuana conviction showed up on a background check run by her employer, attended the news conference. Moore noted that even though Jordan went back to college and now works for the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore, he still had the marijuana conviction on his record.
“Well, today that ends,” Moore said.
Jordan said he was grateful that his experience could be used as a testimony “and offer a lot of change for the people of Maryland.”
“It means a lot, because I know a lot of people who have been convicted of minor cannabis charges, and it has really affected their whole way of life and their whole way of thinking,” Jordan said.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, who attended the news conference, said action was “long overdue.”
“As a nation, we have taken too long to correct the injustices of a system that should be fair for everyone.”
The attorney general also highlighted the magnitude of the governor’s actions and said it was about equity.
“It’s a racial justice issue. While the order applies to everyone who meets its criteria, the impact is a triumphant victory for African-Americans and other Marylanders of color who were disproportionately arrested, convicted, and sentenced for actions yesterday that are legal today.”
More than 150,000 misdemeanor convictions for simple possession of cannabis will be affected by the order, which will also cover more than 18,000 misdemeanor convictions for use or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia, according to a summary from the governor’s office.
Now that Moore has ordered the pardons, the Maryland Judiciary will ensure that each individual electronic file is updated with an entry indicating that the conviction was pardoned by the governor, a process that is expected to take about two weeks, the governor’s office said.
The governor’s order also directs the state corrections department to develop a process to indicate a pardon on an individual’s criminal record, a process that is expected to take about 10 months to complete.
Pardons absolve people of guilt of a criminal offense and individuals do not need to take any action to receive a pardon.
A pardon is different from an expungement. Although the Judiciary notes in the records that the crime was pardoned, this will still appear in the records. Expungement is a process that allows a person to ask the court to remove certain types of court and police records from public view.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
