Current:Home > StocksMaryland Gov. Wes Moore set to issue 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions -MarketStream
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore set to issue 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions
View
Date:2025-04-13 20:59:19
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to sign an executive order to issue 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions Monday, according to a news report.
The pardons will forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people. Moore, a Democrat, told The Washington Post Sunday night that criminal records have been used to deny housing, employment and education.
“I’m ecstatic that we have a real opportunity with what I’m signing to right a lot of historical wrongs,” Moore said. “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.”
Recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland in 2023 after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2022. Now, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis.
Moore plans to sign the executive order Monday morning in the state Capitol in Annapolis with Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown in attendance.
Brown, a Democrat, described the pardons as “certainly long overdue as a nation” and “a racial equity issue.”
“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 told the Post.
veryGood! (5527)
Related
- Audit: California risked millions in homelessness funds due to poor anti-fraud protections
- Spring sports tryout tips: Be early, be prepared, be confident
- A Deep Dive Into the 9-Month Ultimate World Cruise
- 5-year-old migrant boy who got sick at a temporary Chicago shelter died from sepsis, autopsy shows
- Jury finds man guilty of sending 17-year-old son to rob and kill rapper PnB Rock
- Spoilers! What that ending, and Dakota Johnson's supersuit, foretell about 'Madame Web'
- Texas will build camp for National Guard members in border city of Eagle Pass
- New Jersey district settles sex abuse lawsuit involving former teacher for $6 million
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Why ESPN's Jay Williams is unwilling to say that Caitlin Clark is 'great'
Ranking
- Tropical weather brings record rainfall. Experts share how to stay safe in floods.
- English Premier League recap: Liverpool and Arsenal dominate, Manchester City comes up short
- Albuquerque Police Department opens internal investigation into embattled DWI unit
- Virginia Lawmakers Elect Pivotal Utility Regulators To Oversee Energy Transition
- A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)
- Dakota Johnson's new 'Madame Web' movie is awful, but her Gucci premiere dress is perfection
- Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian's salary to significantly increase under new contract
- Prosecutor: Grand jury decides against charges in troopers’ shooting of 2 after pursuit, kidnapping
Recommendation
Matt Damon remembers pal Robin Williams: 'He was a very deep, deep river'
Bears great Steve McMichael contracts another infection, undergoes blood transfusion, family says
Derek Hough 'can't wait' to make tour return after wife Hayley Erbert's health scare
Don’t Miss Kate Spade Outlet’s Presidents’ Day Sale Featuring Bags Up to 90% Off, Just in Time for Spring
Olympic women's basketball bracket: Schedule, results, Team USA's path to gold
George Kliavkoff out as Pac-12 commissioner as the full conference enters final months
Boy who was staying at Chicago migrant shelter died of sepsis, autopsy says
A year after Jimmy Carter’s entered hospice care, advocates hope his endurance drives awareness