(Reuters) – Maryland’s governor pardoned greater than 175,000 low-level marijuana convictions on Monday, an govt motion he stated was aimed toward addressing the disproportionate impression of the state’s drug insurance policies on folks of shade.
In November 2022, Maryland residents voted to legalize adult-use marijuana in a referendum, adopted by a mass pardon from Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.
“We won’t tackle the advantages of legalization if we do not tackle the results of criminalization,” Moore stated Monday, noting that folks with convictions have problem accessing housing, schooling and employment even after serving time in jail.
Massachusetts has accomplished related mass pardons earlier than, and President Joe Biden has issued pardons for federal drug convictions lately. In April, the Biden administration took steps to make marijuana use a much less critical crime on the federal stage.
Black Individuals have traditionally been greater than thrice extra prone to be arrested on marijuana costs than white Individuals, based on analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union.
“Should you look again in time, you’ll be able to see how insurance policies have been deliberately deployed to hinder complete communities,” Moore stated. “We’re speaking concerning the instruments that led to the mass incarceration of black males and boys.”
Moore stated the chief order pardons convictions associated to misdemeanor possession of marijuana and sure convictions associated to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
The use and possession of marijuana stays unlawful underneath federal regulation, however 24 states have legalized leisure use underneath state regulation. Thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C., permit the medical use of marijuana, based on the Nationwide Convention of State Legislatures.
