Wes Moore, the only Black person who is currently a governor in the United States of America, has made a very bold move. The Maryland Governor has issued a mass pardon for more than 175,000 people who have been convicted for marijuana possession or usage in the past. This move is quite bold as it is a clear, sweeping action that would change the lives of almost 200,000 Americans.
Without a doubt, this decision by the Democratic governor is one of the most sweeping pardoning acts that the country has ever witnessed involving drug use. As marijuana is now a widely used and accepted recreational drug, the governor finds it very unfair that there are still people who have the drug as a criminal charge on their name.
Because of this criminal charge or conviction, they lose out on employment, housing, and even education opportunities, as people do not want to be involved with people with a criminal record. Therefore, this is holding a lot of these people back and the governor decided to do something to fix it.
According to Moore, those who have served their sentences do not deserve to be punished for life and denied opportunities for a drug that is now widely used for recreational purposes. Moore made this announcement earlier in June at the Annapolis event, where people interrupted his speech three different times with standing ovations and cheers due to how happy they were.
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The governor said in his speech that his administration was very serious about this and their actions are very “intentional, sweeping and unapologetic.” Moore also noted that this was an effort to start to heal decades of economic and social injustice that has been directed towards Black and Brown people for several decades.
He also said that policymaking is very powerful, and several policies have been implemented to purposely target minority communities, and he was hoping to change this. According to the governor, the range of his pardons is arguably the most aggressive and far-reaching executive action that officials across the country have carried out to reduce the inequality in criminal justice as marijuana continues to grow in legalization.
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However, Moore is not the first to do this. There are nine other states and many cities that have pardoned hundreds of thousands of people who had records of old marijuana convictions in the past few years. Therefore, many people are supportive of this and believe that it is a step in the right direction.
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People who were once denied opportunities due to their record with marijuana usage or convictions would now be able to start afresh with a clean slate that would help them thrive. According to Moore, the Black and Brown community members already have an eight-to-one disadvantage ratio while looking for opportunities in the country.
Therefore, removing their convicted statuses will help them increase their chances in an already unfair system. Those who beat the odds and were able to get educational or job opportunities regardless of their conviction status are also in support of this bold move as they believe it would make things easier for many families across the state.
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