Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has vacated 47,144 convictions for marijuana possession, affecting roughly 45,000 people and forgiving more than $14 million in fines and fees, her office announced Monday.
This is not, however, a blanket pardon.
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,” the announcement said.
The pardon also restores the eligibility of those affected for employment, housing and education opportunities previously denied to them due to their conviction.
“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,” Ms. Brown wrote.
Activists and advocates welcomed the move, and urged further clemency nationwide as marijuana legalization passes in more and more states.
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“Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization,” Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told The Associated Press.
The aggregated information used for the pardons did not include addresses for those affected, and their records will be sealed without their immediate knowledge, according to a FAQs document from the governor’s office.
Individuals who believe they have been pardoned and would like a copy of their sealed court records will have to request them online on the Oregon judiciary’s website.