Oregon is the latest state to pardon thousands of people with low-level marijuana convictions. Gov. Kate Brown's move to pardon 45,000 people convicted of simple possession of marijuana comes weeks after President Biden took similar action under federal law, Axios reports. The governors of Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Washington state moved in recent months to pardon people with low-level marijuana convictions. Brown will also forgive more than $14 million in associated fines and fees. "The pardon applies to electronically available Oregon convictions for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana, in pre-2016 cases in which the person was 21 years of age or older, where this was the only charge, and where there were no victims," she said.
"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," Brown said. "My pardon will remove these hardships. And while Oregonians use marijuana at similar rates, Black and Latina/o/x people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates." Oregon legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2014.
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