Colorado governor to mass-pardon 2,700-plus marijuana convictions

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis plans to mass-pardon 2,732 convictions of low-level marijuana possession through an executive order Thursday after signing a bill earlier this year that gave him that authority. “This really catches Coloradans up with where the law is today,” he told The Denver Post. House Bill 1424, passed by the General Assembly earlier this year, included a provision that allows the governor to pardon those who have convictions on their criminal records for possessing up to 2 ounces of marijuana — the current legal limit for medical marijuana users. Polis’ pardon, however, will only apply to convictions in state courts through 2012 of up to 1 ounce for recreational use, consistent with Colorado Amendment 64, passed by voters in 2012. It will not apply to convictions in municipal courts or in other states. The governor said his office worked with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to sort through criminal histories and determine the exact number of eligible convictions. The total number of individuals who will benefit from the pardon was not immediately available because a single person could have been convicted on more than one charge. Unlike programs in Denver and Boulder to expunge marijuana convictions, those eligible for the pardon will not have to apply. In the first six months of Denver’s program, fewer than 1% of the 13,000 people eligible successfully got their convictions erased. Other states have taken action to address previous low-level convictions after marijuana legalization. Nevada, for instance, automatically pardoned more than 15,000, and…

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Source : Denver Post
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