About 45,000 people previously convicted of marijuana possession in Oregon will be pardoned and $14 million in fines forgiven, the Governor’s Office announced Monday.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is pardoning the 47,144 convictions for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana going back several decades.
Criminal convictions, even for possessing small amounts of marijuana that would be legal now, can be barriers to employment, housing and education.
“No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana — a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon,” Brown said in a statement Monday. “Oregonians should never face housing insecurity, employment barriers, and educational obstacles as a result of doing something that is now completely legal, and has been for years. My pardon will remove these hardships.”
She noted that while all Oregonians use marijuana at similar rates, Black and Latino people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted of marijuana possession at disproportionate rates.
Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union applauded Brown’s action on Monday, saying her move followed an important step by President Joe Biden last month to pardon thousands of people nationwide of federal convictions for marijuana possession.
Officials with the ACLU of Oregon said Brown is the first governor take this action on pardoning.
Sandy Chung, executive director of ACLU of Oregon, said they were grateful for…