Abstract
Since 2012, several states and municipalities have decriminalized the non-violent use and possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana by adults. These criminal law reforms raise the issue of whether individuals who were convicted in the past should be exonerated retroactively by way of pardons or clemency. Consequently, many past marijuana offenders remain in state prisons for committing acts that are no longer deemed illegal in many states. Furthermore, these prisoners, as well as persons who were formerly accused or imprisoned, suffer from the stigma and negative collateral consequences of their alleged criminality. In response to these injustices, many governors have granted clemency to a broad group of such past offenders. Despite those governors who have granted clemency, there are other governors who want to grant such clemency but have not been able to do so. This raises the quintessential question: “Why have some governors been successful at granting clemency and others not so?” To answer that question, we need to analyze the legal issues and practices surrounding clemency for past offenders of the simple possession of marijuana.
This essay presents a qualitative study that examines various states based on their governors’ ability to pardon individuals convicted of past marijuana offenses. It provides observations and recommendations to improve the clemency process. This study concludes that for true restorative justice to redress the misplaced War on Drugs, state governments should amend, where necessary, their clemency laws to empower the governor of each state to pardon former offenders of the simple, non-violent possession of marijuana.
Recommended Citation
Mitchell F. Crusto, Pardon Me Please: Evaluating Clemency for Marijuana Offenders, 83 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. Online 1 (2025), https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr-online/vol83/iss1/1