The governor made the announcement during a signing ceremony on Monday, where he emphasized the pardons as a means to rectify what he perceives as past injustices inflicted on "communities of color" through the "war on drugs."
Moore's decision, which aligns with the week of Juneteenth, a holiday often referred to as "black independence day," has been met with mixed reactions. "I’m ecstatic that we have a real opportunity with what I’m signing to right a lot of historical wrongs," Moore told The Washington Post. He further argued, "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.”
The Maryland governor has a history of supporting the cannabis industry. In January 2023, he released $40 million worth of previously frozen funds to bolster the growth of marijuana businesses in Maryland. Prior to placing his assets in a blind trust in May 2023, Moore held approximately $1.2 million worth of shares in a cannabis company operating in Maryland, as reported by NBC 4 Washington.
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The pardons have been hailed by some as a step towards racial justice. “Our current reality of disproportionate arrests and convictions are the residuals of slavery,” Democratic Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said on Monday, according to CNN. He added, “Cannabis convictions for hundreds of thousands of people here in Maryland were scarlet letters, modern day shackles. I can almost hear the clanging of those shackles falling to the floor with your pardon this morning, governor.”
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However, the pardons will not result in the release of any currently incarcerated individuals, as no one in the state is presently imprisoned for minor possession, according to the Post. The state of Maryland ceased prosecutions for criminal marijuana possession following the legalization of recreational marijuana use on July 1, 2023.
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Maryland is not the first state to issue mass pardons for cannabis-related offenses. Other states, including Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, Washington, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, and Wisconsin have collectively pardoned hundreds of thousands convicted of such offenses, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Some states, like California, have opted to expunge, seal, or dismiss convictions, the Post reported.
