Massachusetts governor to pardon those convicted of cannabis possession

good afternoon I'm Patrick little Massachusetts governor morah announcing pardons for those with a marijuana conviction in the state people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession in Massachusetts would see their records automatically forgiven under this executive action Jake hter live in studio with the details from today's announcement Jake well Patrick Governor Healey proca proclaiming in a news conference this morning that she believes this to be the most sweeping cannabis pardon ever

proposed by a governor in the US she says this would be a blank pardon for all misdemeanor convictions in state courts no exceptions no qualifications and no further action having to be taken by those previously convicted she says those eligible for this number in the hundreds of thousands she hopes this will help break down the barriers people may have faced from a marijuana conviction in securing a job housing or an education Healey saying this pardon will also help reduce disparities in the s

tate's Criminal Justice System surveys show that white black and Latino Americans use cannabis at the same rate yet black and Latino Americans have been more frequently arrested charged and convicted of possession that's unjust that's wrong and we need to address that now the next step is for the Governor's Council to vote to approve this executive action and again Healey says this will be an automatic pardon and the conviction will be cleared from someone's record without them having to do anyt

hing reporting live in studio Jake hter 12 News