As Gov. Wes Moore announces he’ll pardon more than 175,000 cannabis-related convictions across Maryland, here’s a quick reaction:
Who knew there were 175,000 people here who were busted for possession of pot?
The governor’s order will grant clemency for more than 150,000 misdemeanor cases of simple possession and more than 18,000 for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Who knew, in our decades-long, so-called “Wars on Drugs,” where heroin and crack were destroying entire neighborhoods, that cops were still out there busting legions of people for smoking a joint?
Moore called the mass pardon a natural outgrowth of voters’ 2022 decision to legalize cannabis for adult use.
And maybe he noticed you can walk along certain busy streets and inhale the aroma coming from fully legal cannabis outlets.
According to the Baltimore Banner, which broke the story, nearly one-quarter of the 175,000 convictions are from Baltimore City. That’s the highest number from any jurisdiction in the state.
Another 13 percent of pardons are from Baltimore County, and a similar amount from Prince George’s County.
All, from areas with the highest percentage of people of color.
The Banner reported, “Officials believe that Black Marylanders are likely to be significantly affected because the system historically has arrested more people of color for drug charges.”
“This has had significant racial equity undertones in it as well,” said Gov. Moore, “in the way we have used the criminal justice system and used cannabis policy as a cudgel against communities of color.
Moore’s gesture marks America’s long transitional change in reaction to marijuana. For years, many called it a “gateway drug” to harder stuff. Others said, “By calling it a crime, officials made the mistake of lumping it with all kinds of drugs, most of which were far more lethal and habit-forming.”
The governor’s order is a signal that both those views have been overwhelmed by decades of widespread use, and a change in culture that views marijuana as no more dangerous than alcohol.
And maybe voters noted that it wasn’t just people of color smoking weed, it was whites, too — and, therefore, time to reconsider the law against it.
A former Baltimore Sun columnist and WJZ-TV commentator, Michael Olesker is the author of six books, including “Journeys to the Heart of Baltimore” (Johns Hopkins University Press) and “Michael Olesker’s Baltimore: If You Live Here, You’re Home” (Johns Hopkins University).
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