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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to sign an executive order to issue 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions Monday, according to a news report.<\/p>\n
The pardons will forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people. Moore, a Democrat, told The Washington Post Sunday night that criminal records have been used to deny housing, employment and education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ecstatic that we have a real opportunity with what I\u2019m signing to right a lot of historical wrongs,\u201d Moore said. \u201cIf you want to be able to create inclusive economic growth, it means you have to start removing these barriers that continue to disproportionately sit on communities of color.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland in 2023 after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2022. Now, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis.<\/p>\n
Moore plans to sign the executive order Monday morning in the state Capitol in Annapolis with Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown in attendance.<\/p>\n
Brown, a Democrat, described the pardons as \u201ccertainly long overdue as a nation\u201d and \u201ca racial equity issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the pardons will extend to anyone and everyone with a misdemeanor conviction for the possession of marijuana or paraphernalia, this unequivocally, without any doubt or reservation, disproportionately impacts\u2014in a good way\u2014Black and Brown Marylanders,\u201d Brown told the Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n