Maryland Democratic Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order pardoning more than 175,000 marijuana convictions on Monday.
Moore’s mass pardons come a year after the state legalized recreational marijuana and are estimated to affect around 100,000 people who have misdemeanor convictions for simple possession of cannabis or for possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia, NBC News reported. With Moore’s executive order, Maryland became the first state to issue mass pardons for people convicted of crimes related to owning drug paraphernalia.
“We cannot celebrate the benefits of legalization if we do not address the consequences of criminalization,” Moore said. “So I want to be clear: When it comes to cannabis, rolling out one of the best and most equitable legal markets in the country is incredibly important. But that rollout must go hand in hand with pardoning past…
