The governor of Massachusetts is moving to pardon \u201chundreds of thousands\u201d of people with misdemeanor marijuana convictions of their records, in line with President Joe Biden\u2019s push for state-level clemency, she announced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Gov. Maura Healey (D) said she is taking executive action to pardon individuals with simple possession convictions, pending approval by the Governor\u2019s Council. The record sealing process will be automated by the state for most eligible people.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody 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,\u201d Healey said in a press release.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking this nation-leading action as part of our commitment to using the clemency process to advance fairness and equity in our criminal justice system,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful for President Biden\u2019s leadership on this at the federal level and proud to answer his call to take action in the states.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a press conference on Wednesday, Healey said she believes her action is \u201cthe most sweeping cannabis pardon ever proposed by any governor in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Massachusetts decriminalized low-level marijuana possession in 2008 and legalized adult-use cannabis in 2016, but the laws did not contain provisions for automatic expungements like those that were included in some other states\u2019 policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarijuana laws have significantly changed over the past decade, and it\u2019s essential that our criminal justice system adjusts with them,\u201d Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll (D) said. \u201cGovernor Healey\u2019s proposed pardon represents an important step toward righting historic wrongs, particularly around our country\u2019s misguided War on Drugs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank the Governor\u2019s Council for their careful consideration of this recommendation and look forward to continuing our progress to make Massachusetts a more fair and equitable home for all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\nWhen Biden issued a first round of mass pardons for federal marijuana offenses, he also encouraged governors to follow suit with state-level relief.<\/p>\n
Former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) had said at the time that the state already took steps to facilitate expungements through legislation enacted in 2018 that allowed people to petition the courts for record sealing for cannabis offenses that have been decriminalized, but then-gubernatorial candidate Healey pledged to go further<\/a>.<\/p>\n Healey\u2019s office said her new move is the \u201cmost comprehensive action by a governor following President Biden\u2019s call for marijuana pardons in the states.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI applaud the Healey-Driscoll administration\u2019s efforts to rectify historic racial disparities, including with this proposed pardon, and President Biden\u2019s leadership at the federal level on the same issue,\u201d Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell (D) said.<\/p>\n \u201cConvictions for simple marijuana possession\u2014which someone could not be charged with today\u2014have led to the disproportionate incarceration of Black and brown people and made it nearly impossible for them to obtain a job, housing, educational opportunities and more,\u201d she said<\/a>. \u201cAs the AG\u2019s Office also works to address injustice and close the racial wealth gap, this proposed pardon meaningfully moves the Commonwealth in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n House Speaker Ronald Mariano (D) said the \u201cdecision from Governor Healey to pardon certain marijuana convictions is the right one, as it is another step towards rectifying decades of injustices stemming from the criminalization of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis announcement is consistent with the Legislature\u2019s intent during the passage of the 2018 criminal justice reform law, which was updated in 2022 when the Legislature passed further cannabis reforms, that allowed residents to seek expungements for convictions that are no longer crimes following voter-approved reforms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Marijuana is legal in Massachusetts, but there are still people living with convictions that hold them back. <\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t sit right with me. That’s not justice. <\/p>\n I’m using my executive power to pardon all misdemeanor convictions for marijuana possession in Massachusetts. pic.twitter.com\/ZvJCek6YBA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Maura Healey (@MassGovernor) March 13, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Senate President Karen Spilka (D) said that an \u201cequitable Commonwealth is one where a misdemeanor cannabis conviction does not stand in the way of someone moving forward with their life with a new job, home, or education.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe legislature has worked hard to expand and expedite expungement, and I am elated that the Healey-Driscoll Administration is moving to pardon misdemeanor cannabis convictions,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n The Massachusetts Governor\u2019s Council, which will now review the cannabis clemency proposal, has eight members<\/a> who are elected from their respective districts every two years. The lieutenant governor also serves as an ex officio member.<\/p>\n The repeated references to Biden in Healey\u2019s announcement is notable, coming just a week after the president historically touted his cannabis pardons and scheduling review directive during his State of the Union address<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHundreds of thousands of Americans unduly carry the burden and stigma of a past conviction for behavior that most Americans, and a growing number of states, no longer consider to be a crime,\u201d NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said<\/a> in a blog post about the new Massachusetts move. \u201cOur sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization.\u201d<\/p>\n Vice President Kamala Harris will also be meeting with three presidential pardon recipients at an event at the White House on Friday to discuss their experiences with the executive clemency process<\/a>.<\/p>\n The event seems to be the latest signal that the administration is hoping to appeal to voters ahead of the November election by promoting an issue with bipartisan popularity, especially among critical young voters.<\/p>\n The popularity of administrative cannabis reform was also underscored in a recent poll that showed how Biden\u2019s marijuana moves stand to benefit him in November. The survey found\u00a0the president\u2019s favorability spiked after people were made aware of the possibility<\/a>\u00a0that cannabis could be rescheduled under the Biden-initiated review.<\/p>\n Back in Massachusetts, the governor also filed a bill last year to create a psychedelics working group<\/a> to study and make recommendations about the potential therapeutic benefits of substances like psilocybin and MDMA for military veterans.<\/p>\n Since Massachusetts first opened its adult-use cannabis market, licensed retailers have sold more than $7 billion in legal medical and recreational marijuana<\/a>, according to the latest numbers from the state\u2019s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).<\/p>\n VP Harris To Meet With Marijuana Pardon Recipients At White House This Week As Biden Leans Into Issue Ahead Of Election<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Massachusetts Governor To Pardon Hundreds Of Thousands With Marijuana Convictions<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The governor of Massachusetts is moving to pardon \u201chundreds of thousands\u201d of people with misdemeanor marijuana convictions of their records, in line with President Joe Biden\u2019s push for state-level clemency, she announced on Wednesday. Gov. Maura Healey (D) said she is taking executive action to pardon individuals with simple possessionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73197,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73196\/revisions\/73197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n
\nRead More: Massachusetts Governor To Pardon Hundreds Of Thousands With Marijuana Convictions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"