Oregon Governor Kate Brown has announced she will be issuing pardons for 45,000 people that have been convicted of felony cannabis possession in the state.
All associated fines will also be wiped away, clearing more than $14 million in criminal charges. The state courts will now begin working to seal all possession charge records to ensure those that had been convicted won’t face economic or employment impediments.
It’s been several years since Oregon decriminalized simple possession of cannabis, yet many people continue to carry a felony charge on their record despite its current legality.
“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 press release.
“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.”
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The clemency comes weeks after President Biden issued presidential pardons for a few thousand possession charges that were held on the federal law books. The vast majority of such convictions however are done at the state level.
Brown also expressed an interest in opening up Oregon to the import and exportation of cannabis to and from other states—a bold vision, since cannabis is still classified by the federal government as a Schedule 1 drug.
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The U.S. Constitution gives the federal government jurisdiction to regulate inter-state commerce, and they would need to change the laws so cannabis produced in one state could be sold in another state—which is currently illegal, even if the plant has been deemed legal to possess and sell in both states.
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