Massachusetts Approves Mass Pardons for Minor Cannabis Offenses

A Massachusetts council on Wednesday approved Governor Maura Healey’s (D) plan to pardon tens of thousands of people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana charges going back decades. The pardons approved by the Governor’s Council will take effect immediately, although it will take some time to update state criminal records, officials said. Massachusetts joins several other states, including Rhode Island, Connecticut, Missouri and Oregon, in forgiving low-level marijuana offenders.

“Massachusetts made history today,” Healey said in a statement. “Thousands of Massachusetts residents will now see their records cleared of this charge, which will help lower the barriers they face when seeking housing, education or a job.”

Healey, a former Massachusetts state attorney general, said the pardons are the most sweeping by a governor since President Joe Biden in December pardoned thousands of people with federal marijuana possession convictions and called on governors to follow suit. Healey said the pardons will apply to those arrested as far back as the 1970s war on drugs and earlier.

The pardons will apply to all adults convicted prior to March 13, 2024 in state court for possession of marijuana or a Class D substance. Most people will not need to take any action to have their criminal records updated, according to Healey. The state also has set up an online page to request certificates confirming marijuana pardons. Healey said the pardons are a matter of justice.

Thousands of people still have marijuana convictions on their records even though the state decriminalized possession for personal use in 2008 and legalized recreational marijuana in 2016.“Massachusetts changed state laws around marijuana possession and this proposal is based on the simple premise of fairness and equity that a person should not bear the mark of conviction for an offense that is no longer a state crime,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden told the council, referring to the 2016 ballot initiative that legalized adult-use cannabis.

“I want to underscore the importance of workforce development in what we’re doing here,” said Ron Iacobucci of the MassHire South Shore Career Centers. “I oversee the publicly-funded workforce system in the South Shore, and I know the impact that this has on the lives of many people who come through our doors. We have job-seekers, we have employers, and this criminal record pardon opportunity is something that really makes a big difference.”