Posted on 06/17/24
| News Source: WBAL
Annapolis, MD - June 17, 2024 - Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is planning to pardon more than 175,000 marijuana convictions on Monday, according to a Washington Post report published Sunday night.
Based on the Post’s reporting, the governor would be forgiving marijuana-related charges for roughly 100,000 people.
After President Joe Biden issued a mass pardon of federal marijuana convictions in 2022, he called on governors to do the same at the state level. That same year, Maryland voters approved a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana statewide, which took effect July 1, 2023.
Nine other states have made similar moves. The state-level action is rivaled only by one other state, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
The Post reported that Moore’s announcement is timed to coincide with Juneteenth on Wednesday, a holiday that represents the end of slavery in the U.S. The Post report said Moore is looking to right the wrongs of criminal justice inequities that disproportionally targeted Black people.
The Post reports that Moore’s pardons would include misdemeanor possession and certain convictions for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
Moore’s office did not respond Sunday night to requests for comment, but a news conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday.