Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced the state will pardon an estimated 45,000 people with marijuana-related convictions.
The pardons only apply to those convicted of possessing no more than 1 ounce of marijuana before 2016, when Oregon legalized the recreational use of marijuana for people at least 21 years old.
The latest pardons apply to 47,144 cases in which marijuana possession was the only charge and in which there were no victims.
This pardon was issued on November 21, 2022. Circuit courts in each county will seal the pardoned convictions and then they will be unavailable to the public. As part of this process, the state will also forgive more than $14,000,000 in fines and fees.
Governor Kate Brown hopes by issuing pardons Oregonians will have new opportunities to find housing, employment, and training, and educational opportunities that might have excluded them.