Drug Legalization

C.J. Ciaramella | 6.17.2024 1:20 PM

Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will issue a blanket pardon for low-level marijuana convictions in the state today, a move that the governor's office estimates will clear the records of an estimated 100,000 people.

Moore's office claims it is the largest mass pardon by a state related to marijuana, and the first to include offenses for the possession of paraphernalia as well. Maryland legalized recreational marijuana last year after voters approved a 2022 constitutional amendment by 67 percent.

Moore says the pardons are an effort to remove the burdens of felony convictions, such as barriers to employment and housing, which have fallen particularly hard on minority neighborhoods that were targets of the drug war.

"I'm ecstatic that we have a real opportunity with what I'm signing to right a lot of historical wrongs," Moore said in an interview with The Washington........

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