State's marijuana pardon program falls short in delivering relief for those convicted of small-time possession
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Last September, Governor Tom Wolf had high hopes that many Pennsylvanians would be cleared of their small possession marijuana charges through a special pardons program.
But that program may be going up in smoke.
Remember the fanfare when the state announced the Pennsylvania Marijuana Pardon Project, a joint effort by Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to expedite pardons for those with non-violent marijuana convictions.
Turns out that only 231 pardons have been approved so far, with over 2,000 requests rejected. Marijuana defense attorney Patrick Nightingale said the program was limited to just a single possession charge that few have.
"A small amount charge almost invariably also comes with a paraphernalia charge," Nightingale said. "So if you have marijuana in a baggie, they charge you for the weed. They charge you for the baggie as paraphernalia."
If convicted of having a device to use the cannabis — a wrapper, a bowl, a pipe, a bong — you would be ineligible for the governor's pardon.
"Having these records out there for a small amount of marijuana is a big deal for everyone who has them like me," said Chris Goldstein of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Goldstein has a federal possession conviction for smoking a joint at a protest outside Independence Hall. He said it's the young, often people of color who get charged and are impacted for life by a criminal record that should be purged but won't be under this program.
"It was a narrow window," Goldstein said. "It was a narrow set of provisions. And you basically would have had to have led a police encounter-free life other than a marijuana conviction in order to qualify."
Governor Wolf's office says this was a first-time project that it hopes Governor-elect Josh Shapiro will work to improve. Both Goldstein and Nightingale praise Wolf and Fetterman for trying, but they said the real solution lies with the legislature, like legalizing marijuana and clearing the records of thousands of marijuana users.