Advocates welcome cannabis pardons, but urge Moore to continue justice reform efforts

Gov. Wes Moore, left, gives a handshake to Shiloh Jordan on June 17 inside the governor's reception room in Annapolis. Attorney General Anthony Brown looks on. Photo by William J. Ford.

Advocates are celebrating Gov. Wes Moore’s pardoning of tens thousands of cannabis possession convictions as a “powerful symbolic gesture,” but many see the pardons as just a first step in improving the lives of those still struggling with the fallout of minor criminal offenses.

“The pardon is only one piece of the puzzle of that equity issue,” said Heather Warnken, executive director for Criminal Justice Reform at the University of Baltimore School of Law.

“A move like this … from our elected officials to acknowledge systemic harm and injustices and proactively rectify them, it’s definitely a step forward,” she said.

Moore on Monday issued pardons  for more than 150,000 convictions for minor possession of marijuana, and another 18,000 misdemeanor convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia. The pardons come more than a year after voters made it legal for Marylanders age 21 and over to possess marijuana for personal use.

But many Marylanders still had possession convictions from before the law changed, a charge that Black residents are twice as likely to face as others, according to state data. A racial equity impact note for the 2022 referendum that ultimately legalized recreational cannabis use noted Black people accounted for 59% of those arrested for marijuana possession in 2020, compared to about 39% for white people.

Those convictions often result in hardships in getting a job, finding affordable housing and other economic challenges. Criminal justice advocates say the pardons are a step in the right direction – but just the first step.

“It is a powerful symbolic gesture,” said Adrian Rocha, policy manager at the Last Prisoner Project.

“For far too long, we’ve seen states really signal the potential economic benefit of a legalization campaign without really acknowledging the long and pernicious history of the war on drugs. And particularly, the role that cannabis played as a tool to incarcerate individuals of color,” Rocha said.

“I think what we saw was a real commitment to justice from Gov. Moore. And as he said in his statement this is the first step … I don’t think it’s the last,” he added.

Advocates: Moore can do more

Criminal justice reform advocates say that Maryland still has a ways to go.

Warnken said that she thinks the governor should use his clemency power for other low-level convictions, among other efforts.

“I think it’s a misconception that a misdemeanor conviction, as opposed to a felony conviction, in a record doesn’t erect enormous barriers to opportunities,” she said. “The collateral consequences of a conviction on someone’s life, it’s almost immeasurable … from employment to housing to education, public benefits, professional licensure, the list goes on.

“And we really take Gov. Moore at his word that this is only phase one,” Warnken said. “We’re hoping that the Moore administration continues pushing forward in both their unique exercise of executive clemency power, but also work with us out in the field who are addressing it from different angles.”

Administration officials said those convicted can check online at the Maryland Judiciary case search to see if they have been pardoned or visit a local courthouse to verify their case status.

That said, a pardon is different from an expungement, which is when the conviction is cleared from someone’s record.

“We know that the pardon does not mean that the record is totally expunged … it’s still on the record technically,” said Christopher Dews, assistant vice president of a public affairs firm called Cornerstone. He was speaking on behalf of Out for Justice, a nonprofit that works with formerly incarcerated individuals in Baltimore to help them find employment and transition back into society.

“Maryland has a very far way to go when it comes to having access to expungement,” Dews said.

He said that the process for receiving an expungment is simple, but can be difficult to navigate for average Marylanders.

“You get a form, you fill it out, and then you submit it,” Dews said. “Normally, because it’s a bunch of legal jargon, you have to have an attorney or a lawyer or somebody to sign off on it … and then the court will have to approve the expungment.”

He said that the state attorney general’s office or any victim can object to an expungment request, but “with marijuana charges there shouldn’t be any victims.”

He said that Out for Justice proposes a simple solution: Pardons should prompt an automatic expungement of the conviction.

Dews compared it to the expungement that happens automatically when a defendant is acquitted or charges their case is dismissed.

“The person doesn’t have to file a petition, doesn’t have to do any of that stuff. But, it’s officially gone,” Dews said. “That same process should be applied to charges that have been pardoned by the governor. That would be a great first step for the governor to take on.”

Out for Justice would also like to see the General Assembly tackle something called the “unit rule,” which can create barriers in expunging a charge.

“Under Maryland’s expungement law, the ‘unit rule’ states that only cases can be expunged, not charges,” the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service wrote in a recap of the 2024 legislative session.

“In other words, a person cannot expunge individual charges from a case, even if they were not found guilty, when that same case includes an ineligible charge. An exception now exists for cannabis charges, but the unit rule still prevents many people from expunging charges, even in the event of a not-guilty verdict,” the recap said.

Dews said Monday’s mass pardons are a “huge first step” and he gives credit to the Moore administration for “even taking a stance on understanding the damage that having a criminal record can have on Marylanders.”

Yanet Amanuel, public policy director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, said the governor’s next step should be pardons for those who have been convicted of intent to distribute cannabis.

“We’re hoping that the legislature prioritizes this moving forward, is focusing on the … marijuana possession with intention to distribute,” Amanuel said. “That’s particularly important because, post-decriminalization, we start to see an uptick … of people being charged with intent to distribute.”

“It’s really critical when we talk about actually repairing the harms done from the war on drugs that it’s not just past tense. It’s also moving forward, and in order to do that that includes removing these criminal penalties,” she said.

“When we’re talking about convictions that really are still creating barriers for people or depriving people of opportunities, it’s some of these other convictions that we still need to work on,” Amanuel said.

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