With pardons in Maryland, 2.5 million Americans will have marijuana convictions cleared or forgiven

Maryland this week became the latest state to announce mass pardons for people convicted of marijuana-related crimes as the nation wrestles with how to make amends for the lives disrupted in the decadeslong war on drugs.

Under Gov. Wes Moore's plan, more than 175,000 convictions for possession of cannabis or drug paraphernalia will be pardoned, but not permanently erased from people's criminal records.

Here's a look at where the U.S. stands in addressing old marijuana convictions.

A fraction of cannabis convictions have been expunged or pardoned

NORML, a group that advocates for legalized marijuana, has tallied about 2.5 million expungements and pardons for cannabis convictions in recent years.

“It’s also a drop in the bucket when you consider the reality that over the last 50 years or so, over 30 million Americans have been arrested at the state or local level for marijuana,” Paul Armentano, NORML's deputy director, said in an interview.

Pardons forgive people for their crimes. A pardon can restore civil liberties, such as voting, serving on juries and gun ownership. Expungements go further, hiding the record of convictions entirely; that can clear the way for receiving federal college tuition assistance, qualifying for public housing and allowing parents to participate in their children's school activities, among other benefits.

Executive branch officials such as mayors, governors and the president can offer pardons on their own, and relatively few executives have done sweeping ones like Maryland's. They've done so in Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Birmingham, Alabama; and Kansas City, Missouri.

President Joe Biden has ordered multiple rounds of pardons for those convicted of possession on federal lands or in the