‘We’re going to keep up the work’: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore pardons more than 175,000 marijuana convictions

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order issuing more than 175,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions in Annapolis on Monday.

“This is a responsibility that I take very, very seriously. And that is why this morning, with deep pride and soberness, I will pardon over 175,000 convictions,” Gov. Moore said.

The Democratic governor said the convictions are related to marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia. Gov. Moore called Monday’s executive order the “largest such action in our nation’s history.”

Gov. Moore was joined by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and other officials as he signed the order at the State Capitol in Annapolis.

“Maryland is going to use this moment to right many historical wrongs,” Moore said.

Maryland decriminalized possession of personal use amounts of cannabis on Jan. 1, 2023. To date, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana.

“Legalization does not erase the fact that nearly half of all drug arrests in Maryland during the early 2000s were for cannabis,” Moore said. “It doesn’t erase the fact that Black Marylanders were three times more likely to be arrested for cannabis than White Marylanders before legalization.”

According to a summary by the governor’s office, more than 150,000 misdemeanor convictions for simple possession of marijuana will be affected by the order. It will also cover more than 18,000 misdemeanor convictions for use or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia.

“Undoing decades of harm cannot happen in a day, but we’re going to keep up the work,” Moore said.

Some people may have more than one conviction pardoned through the process.

The pardons will not result in anyone being released from incarceration. It will absolve people from the guilt of a criminal offense, and no action needs to be taken to receive the pardon.

The governor’s office said the Maryland Judiciary will make sure each individual electronic docket is updated with an entry indicating the conviction has been pardoned by the governor. The process is expected to take about two weeks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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