Colorado’s governor Polis pardons over 1,300 people for petty marijuana crimes

By Jelena Martinovic

On Thursday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis pardoned 1,351 people for minor offenses involving marijuana possession, The Hill reported.

In addition to granting pardons to individuals on drug charges by signing an executive order, Polis suspended three removals and 15 other individual pardons for prisoners.

Kudos to @jaredpolis for pardoning 1,351 people convicted of possessing 2 ounces or less of marijuana. A role model for other governors. pic.twitter.com/9j1yVyYwSF

– David Boaz (@David_Boaz) December 31, 2021

The move follows the governor’s signing of a bill – House Bill 1090 – in May that doubles the limit on marijuana possession for adults 21 and older.

This law not only increased the cannabis possession limit, but also aimed to identify individuals with a criminal record of up to 2 ounces of cannabis possession and erase their records.

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“This is a fascinating draft law in terms of criminal law reform, because for far too long the consequences for people who owned a personal amount of cannabis before legalization had long shadows on them, ie for doing something that is” completely legal today “, Polis commented on the bill earlier this year.

Gov. Polis, Photo by Rick T. Wilking / Stringer / Getty Images

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The measure built on Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana and passed in 2012.

“Adults can legally own marijuana in Colorado, just like beer or wine,” Polis said in the statement. “It is unfair that 1,351 additional Coloradans had permanent blemishes that affected employment, credit, and gun ownership, but today we remedied that by pardoning them from possession of small amounts of marijuana that emerged during the failed prohibition era.”

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.