Gellman asks Maryland Governor Wes Moore a question after a press conference at an urban Maryland
Maryland Governor Wes Moore (right) says it will be a step to heal decades of social and economic injustice that disproportionately harmed people of color AFP

Maryland Governor Wes Moore is reportedly planning to issue pardons for more than 175,000 marijuana convictions Monday.

The sweeping measure will primarily address low-level marijuana possession charges, impacting around 100,000 individuals, according to The Washington Post.

The pardons will automatically clear every misdemeanor marijuana possession and paraphernalia charge that can be found in the state's electronic court records system, including those of individuals who have passed away.

The initiative is part of Governor Moore's broader effort to rectify historical injustices. "I'm ecstatic that we have a real opportunity with what I'm signing to right a lot of historical wrongs," he 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," he added.

Maryland is the only state in the D.C. region that has fully legalized cannabis sales.

While nine other states and multiple cities have pardoned hundreds of thousands of previous marijuana convictions in recent years, Maryland's actions are particularly impactful due to its troubling record of disproportionately incarcerating Black people.

Timed to coincide with Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, the pardons aim to address long-standing racial disparities in marijuana-related arrests and convictions.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said the move would benefit Black and Brown communities, who have been disproportionately affected by marijuana laws despite similar usage rates across different demographic groups.

"While 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 — in a good way — Black and Brown Marylanders," Brown said.

"We are arrested and convicted at higher rates for possession and use of marijuana when the rate at which we used it was no different than any other category of people," he added.

The initiative follows a constitutional amendment approved by Maryland voters in 2022, which legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. The amendment took effect on July 1, 2023.

Support for marijuana legalization has surged in recent years. According to a Gallup poll conducted in November 2023, a record 70% of Americans favor legalizing cannabis, a significant increase from 51% in 2014.