Maryland Governor Pardons Thousands of Marijuana Convictions

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Facts

• Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Monday signed an executive order pardoning more than 175K convictions related to marijuana use — which will affect approximately 100K people convicted of low-level charges, including possession.¹
• More than 150K of the pardoned convictions are misdemeanors for possession, while 18K others are misdemeanors for use or possession to use drug paraphernalia.²
• Moore called his administration's actions 'sweeping and unapologetic' and noted how they will reverse 'policies' that have been 'intentionally deployed to hold back entire communities.'³
• Previously, Maryland legalized recreational cannabis in 2023 following the approval of a constitutional amendment via a referendum that received 67% of the vote. In addition, the state decriminalized possession of personal amounts of cannabis on Jan. 1, 2023.⁴
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that nationwide Black people were more than three times more likely than White people to be arrested for marijuana possession.⁵
• When Pres. Joe Biden in 2022 issued a pardon for more than 6K people for federal marijuana charges, he encouraged governors to do the same at the state level.⁵

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²CBS, ³USA Today, ⁴Associated Press and ⁵Washington Post.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Huffington Post. Democrats are at the forefront of the national changing attitude toward marijuana — especially facing how criminalizing it has incommensurately affected communities of color. Moore's actions will go a long way toward reversing discriminatory policies and opening opportunities in housing and employment for those who have been denied them for too long.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Caller. One has to wonder how much Moore's cozy relationship with the cannabis industry affects his policymaking and whether his actions will keep Maryland safe moving forward. In fact, most of the relaxed policies related to marijuana are taking hold in Democrat-run states, which means they'll be the guinea pigs for the impact this will have on public safety.

Predictions