Calling it “the most sweeping level of pardons statewide anywhere in the nation,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore wiped out 175-thousand low-level marijuana convictions.
The governor says his executive order is a step to “heal decades of social and economic injustice.” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown says the governor’s order has historic impact. Recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland last year.
The state decriminalized possession of personal use amounts Jan. 1 of this year. Officials say it will take about two weeks for the pardoned convictions to be notated in the state’s judicial system. Those pardons do not expunge the convictions from a person’s criminal record.
