Pardons for marijuana possessions sought by Massachusetts Governor
Robert Besser
18 Mar 2024, 02:58 GMT+10
Pardons for marijuana possessions sought by Massachusetts Governor
Robert Besser
18 Mar 2024, 02:58 GMT+10
- Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said she was seeking to pardon people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession in the years before the state legalized cannabis in 2016
- Her move comes after President Joe Biden previously pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession offenses under federal law and in Washington, D.C. in October 2022
- The Massachusetts pardons would fulfill a campaign promise Healey, a Democrat, made when seeking election in 2022
BOSTON, Massachusetts: This week, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said she was seeking to pardon people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession in the years before the state legalized cannabis in 2016.
Her move comes after President Joe Biden previously pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession offenses under federal law and in Washington, D.C. in October 2022.
The Massachusetts pardons would fulfill a campaign promise Healey, a Democrat, made when seeking election in 2022.
They are also the most comprehensive action a governor has taken since Biden, a fellow Democrat, called on them to issue marijuana pardons, her office said.
In a statement, Healey said, “Nobody should face barriers to getting a job, housing or an education because of an old misdemeanor marijuana conviction that they would not be charged for today.”
All past adult state court misdemeanor convictions for possession of marijuana will be covered by the pardon, which must still be approved by the Massachusetts Governor’s Council.
Referring to such pardons in his State of the Union address to Congress last week, Biden said, “No one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana.”
Some 40 U.S. states have legalized certain types of marijuana use, but it remains completely illegal in a few states and at federal level. Massachusetts voters legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2016.
Since 2018, governors in other states, including Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin, have issued pardons for various marijuana-related offenses.
A spokesperson for Healey said that unlike many of those pardon actions, the Massachusetts initiative does not require those convicted of marijuana offenses to apply to obtain relief and does not require it to be a person’s only offense.
