The Massachusetts governor, Maura Healey, announced plans to pardon all simple marijuana possession charges from the state, which could affect “hundreds of thousands” who have faced charges.
“We believe this is the most sweeping cannabis pardon announced by any governor in the United States. The reason we do this is simple: justice requires it,” Healey said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Though the state does not have exact numbers of how many people the pardon will affect, Healey said it could be “hundreds of thousands” in Massachusetts.
Healey also pointed to the racial justice the pardons will bring to the state. A 2016 report from the ACLU of Massachusetts found that Black residents made up 24% of marijuana possession arrests in the state, though they make up just 8% of the state’s population.
“We can be certain that this pardon will redress some of the harm those disparities have caused in Massachusetts, and we’ll continue to do all that we can to eliminate racial injustice throughout the system,” Healey said.
The pardon does not cover other marijuana-related charges, including those related to distribution or driving under the influence. Without the pardon, simple marijuana possession charges can show up on people’s criminal records, affecting their ability to obtain a job or housing.
“This announcement today means that people in every community across the state will no longer be punished for behavior that’s now legal,” the ACLU of Massachusetts executive director, Carol Rose, told WBUR. Voters in the state approved a measure to legalize recreational marijuana in 2016.
The pardon is the second from a governor since President Joe Biden issued a pardon in October 2022 for simple marijuana possession on federal lands and Washington DC. Biden had called on governors across the country to do the same for simple marijuana possession charges carried out by their state.
In November 2022, Kate Brown, then governor of Oregon, pardoned more than 47,000 people in the state for charges of simple marijuana possession of one ounce or less.
Biden then expanded his marijuana pardon in December 2023 to include those who had been charged with using or attempting to possess marijuana on federal land, in addition to simple marijuana possession. He renewed his call to governors to issue simple pardons.
“Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana,” Biden said in a statement in December. “It’s time that we right these wrongs.”
