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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Pardons 175,000 People Convicted of Low-Level Marijuana Crimes [1]

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Date: 2024-06-17  

You read that right. From The Washington Post:

This bold move should inspire Governors of other states to do the same. Three cheers for Governor Wes Moore!

What a heroic move by a great leader. We’ve known for years that Nixon’s “War on Drugs” was actually devised as a way to incarcerate Black people and hippies. To that end, it was wildly successful, but likely did little to curb drug use.

“I’m ecstatic that we have a real opportunity with what I’m signing to right a lot of historical wrongs,” Moore said in an interview. “If 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.”

The pardons will forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people in what the Democratic governor said is a step to heal decades of social and economic injustice that disproportionately harms Black and Brown people. Moore noted criminal records have been used to deny housing, employment and education, holding people and their families back long after their sentences have been served.

The pardons will forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people in what the Democratic governor said is a step to heal decades of social and economic injustice that disproportionately harms Black and Brown people. Moore noted criminal records have been used to deny housing, employment and education, holding people and their families back long after their sentences have been served.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will issue a mass pardon of more than 175,000 marijuana convictions Monday morning, one of the nation’s most sweeping acts of clemency involving a drug now in widespread recreational use.

Update 3:21pm ET — From T Maysle in the comments:

Gov Moore comes on at 32 minutes..

I am humbled to be with each and every one of you in this historic statehouse as, in this moment, we’re prepared to make our own history together. Because something that we know is that things do not just happen. Things are made to happen, and you all in this room have made some pretty extraordinary things happen.

This morning, with deep pride and soberness, I will pardon over 175,000 convictions

related to the possession of cannabis and cannabis paraphernalia.

We cannot celebrate the benefits of legalization if we do not address the consequences of criminalization.

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