ANNAPOLIS, Maryland: In the "most sweeping state-level pardon in any state", Maryland Governor Wes Moore pardoned more than 175,000 prisoners for marijuana convictions as he believed it would help reverse harms from the past caused by the war on drugs, The Associated Press reported.

Moore said at a news conference that the executive order would affect "tens of thousands of Marylanders" convicted of misdemeanors. Some may have had more than one conviction pardoned through the process.

"We are taking actions that are intentional, that are sweeping and unapologetic, and this is the largest such action in our nation's history," Moore, a Democrat, said.

People will neither be released from prison because of these pardons nor will they have their past convictions automatically expunged from background checks. However, advocates praised the move as it would remove barriers to housing, employment, or educational opportunities based on convictions for conduct no longer illegal.

Heather Warnken, executive director of the University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Criminal Justice Reform, described the pardons as "a win for thousands of Marylanders getting a fresh start to pursue education, employment, and other forms of economic opportunity without the stain of a criminal conviction."

Recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland in 2023. Following the decriminalization of possession of personal use amounts of cannabis on January 1, 2023, by Maryland, 24 states and the District of Columbia also legalized recreational cannabis.

"This is about changing how both government and society view those who have been walled off from opportunity because of broken and uneven policies," AP quoted Moore as saying.

He said, "Legalization does not turn back the clock on decades of harm that was caused by this war on drugs."

"It does not erase the fact that Black MaryIn the "most sweeping state-level pardon in any state", Maryland Governor Wes Moore pardoned more than 175,000 prisoners for marijuana convictionslanders were three times more likely to be arrested for cannabis than white Marylanders before legalization. It does not erase the fact that having a conviction on your record means a harder time with everything, from housing to employment to education."

Under the governor's order, the state corrections department will develop a process to indicate a pardon in an individual's criminal record, which could take about ten months to complete.

The pardons absolve people from the guilt of a criminal offense, and individuals do not need to take any action to receive the pardon.