Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Monday pardoned 175,000 cannabis-related convictions, the largest mass pardon of its kind since recreational cannabis was legalized in the state last year, following similar steps in many US states.
The Democratic leader’s executive order includes more than 150,000 convictions for simple possession of cannabis and more than 18,000 felony convictions for use or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia.
Moore, Maryland’s first black governor, said the pardons were intended to address longstanding inequities in the criminal justice system linked to the drug.
“Marylanders should no longer face barriers to housing, employment or education based on convictions for conduct that is no longer illegal,” Moore said in a statement.
“This action will also help make significant progress in addressing the racial wealth gap and will benefit Marylanders from across the state and across the economic spectrum,” he added.
The order coincided with the federal holiday of Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. and draws attention to persistent racial inequality in American society.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, black people are 3.6 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite similar consumption.
Maryland’s pardon follows a 2022 federal order that pardoned several categories of federal marijuana possession offenses, and the Biden administration is pushing to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug ahead of November’s presidential election, on DEA recommendation.
Earlier this year, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey also granted mass pardons to people convicted of simple possession of marijuana.
Before granting the pardon in Maryland, Moore told the Washington Post that he was “thrilled” to have the opportunity “to right a lot of historical wrongs” and said that in order to create inclusive economic growth, “you have to start with removing these barriers that continue to disproportionately burden communities of color.”
