Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey delivers her inaugural address in the House Chamber at the Statehouse moments after being sworn into office during inauguration ceremonies on Jan. 5, 2023, in Boston. Healey plans to announce this week that she's following the lead of President Joe Biden and issuing pardons to those convicted of simple possession of cannabis at the state level. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
In the years since 2016, a bustling legal pot industry has sprouted up in Massachusetts, even as the drug remains illegal at the federal level.
In December, Biden pardoned thousands of people who had been convicted of the use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia.
The White House said at the time that Biden's latest round of executive clemencies was meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system. Biden had said his actions would help make the "promise of equal justice a reality."
BIDEN COMMUTES SENTENCES FOR 11 CONVICTED OF DRUG CRIMES, TARGETING 'UNJUSTIFIED DISPARITIES'
December's action was meant to build on a similar round of pardons issued just before the 2022 midterm elections of those convicted of simple possession on federal lands.
At the time, Biden called on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases.
As a Democratic candidate for governor in 2022, Healey indicated that she would heed Biden's call.
It's hard to know just how many people could benefit from Healey's pardons.
According to a report by the Cannabis Control Commission, the panel charged with administering the legal cannabis market in Massachusetts, there were close to 69,000 civil or criminal violations for marijuana possession issued in Massachusetts from 2000 through 2013.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/massachusetts-gov-healey-follow-bidens-lead-announcing-pardons-marijuana-offenders