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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Set To Issue More Than 175,000 Pardons For Marijuana Convictions

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore set to issue more than 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions​


FILE - Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during a visit to SOUTH Restaurant & Jazz Club with President Joe Biden, on May 29, 2024, in Philadelphia. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to sign an executive order to issue 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions at a news conference on Monday morning, June 17, 2024, a newspaper reported. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)


June 17, 2024

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to sign an executive order to issue more than 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions Monday, the governor’s office said.
The administration is describing the pardons as the largest state pardon to date. The governor’s action regarding cases relating to use of paraphernalia make Maryland the first state to take such action, his office said.
The pardons will forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people, according to The Washington Post, which first reported on the order Sunday night.
Moore plans to sign the executive order Monday morning in the state Capitol in Annapolis with Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown in attendance.
Recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland in 2023 after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2022 with 67% of the vote. Maryland decriminalized possession of personal use amounts of cannabis on Jan. 1, 2023. Now, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis.

“The Moore-Miller Administration is committed to promoting social equity and ensuring the fair and equitable administration of justice,” the governor’s office said.

“Because the use and possession of cannabis is no longer illegal in the state, Marylanders should not continue to face barriers to housing, employment, or educational opportunities based on convictions for conduct that is no longer illegal.”



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.
More than 150,000 misdemeanor convictions for simple possession of cannabis will be affected by the order, which also will cover more than 18,000 misdemeanor convictions for use or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia, according to a summary by the governor’s office.

The pardons reflect the number of convictions. Some individuals may have had more than one conviction pardoned through the process.
The pardons will not result in anyone being released from incarceration.
After Moore signs the pardon, the Maryland Judiciary will ensure each individual electronic docket is updated with an entry indicating the conviction has been pardoned by the governor, a process that should take about two weeks, the governor’s office said.

The governor’s order also directs the state corrections department to develop a process to indicate a pardon in an individual’s criminal record, a process expected to take about 10 months to complete.
The pardons absolve people from the guilt of a criminal offense, and individuals do not need to take any action to receive the pardon.
A pardon is different from expungement. Although the Judiciary will make a note on the record that the offense has been pardoned, it will still show on the record. Expungement is the process by which a criminal conviction is destroyed and removed completely from the public record, which requires an additional step

Reparations Have Become The Latest Target For Conservative Activists. Advocates Say They Are Prepared To Fight Back



A conservative group’s lawsuit against a reparations program in Evanston, Illinois, that provides some Black residents with cash payments and housing assistance, has left advocates for reparations worried this could be the first of many attacks on their efforts to redress the harms of slavery, segregation and systemic racism in the United States.

Blacks Losing Jobs For Being Pro Palestinian

Brihana Joy Gray is the latest. She co hosted a program called 'Breaking Points' on The Hill. She is the latest to get fired related to pro Palestinian. She got fired for an 'eye roll'...yeah, eye roll. Which was just an excuse.
Others like Marc Lamont Hill, Blacks are over represented on the pro Palestinian marches on some campuses. A sista at Ole Miss got monkey chants at a pro Palestinian protest.

I feel for these brothers and sisters. Even if I don't agree with some like Marc Lamont Hill on the strategy for black justice in America and globally.

That being said, personally, if I'm going to lose my job its going to be over fighting for Black people. I feel greatly for the Gazans. Those pictures and videos of the atrocities leveled against them are heart breaking. You can not be. I got them in spirit, but I'm not marching on a college campus for them either. I will protest in on public ways. I may vote for a pro Palestinian candidate over a Republican for example. I may even donate....maybe to a specific cause like some aid organization. Those are private ways.

If I'm a journalist, I wouldn't say I would be completely quiet but I've seen the sister's programs and she goes in. On a side note, I like her a lot. Smart sista, Harvard grad, got a good energy about her. She worked for Bernie Sanders campaign at one time. Yeah, RCNAL kinda feeling her....sh is eloquent, strong, smart, beautiful sister. Seriously though, but I wouldn't be losing my job over the issue. if it was for an anti Black crime bill, reparations for my FBA peeps, keeping colonialists and Chinese out of Africa for my African peeps etc. then at least its for Blacks as a collective.

Not blaming her, not criticizing her, as well as the others per se. Because of our collective history of slavery or colonialization depending on your own history, we hate seeing injustice done to anyone, since have had it historically and are presently experiencing it. So, some of us ride for Ukraine openly, for Gazans openly and other oppressed peoples. I get it. I just am focused on me and mine as a priority.

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