The governor of the US state of Maryland issued a mass pardon of drug offenses on Monday, in a far-reaching move forgiving 175,000 low-level marijuana convictions across multiple decades.
Democrat Wes Moore said his act — “the most sweeping state-level pardon” in American history — was aimed at addressing social and economic injustices disproportionately impacting tens of thousands of Black people.
Moore, the eastern state’s first Black governor, said he intended to right the “decades of harm” wrought by drug policy that had disproportionately targeted African Americans, depriving them of access to housing, education and employment.
Nearly half of all state drug arrests during the early 2000s were for cannabis, he said, with Black Marylanders three times more likely to be detained over cannabis-related charges than white residents.
And while the state’s population of six million is 33 percent Black, more than 70 percent of Maryland’s male incarcerated population is Black.
“Today, we take a big step enacting the kinds of policies that can reverse the harm of the past and to help us to work together to build a brighter future,” Moore said as he signed the pardons into law in a ceremony in the capital Annapolis.
“This is a big deal. This is a really big deal.”
He said the scope of the pardons — affecting some 100,000 people — amounted to a “sweeping and unapologetic” executive action by officials looking to erase criminal justice inequities as more states nationwide ease marijuana laws.
After a state-wide referendum, Maryland legalized cannabis for adults and retail sales of the drug in 2023.
The governor said the pardons would extend to anyone with a misdemeanor conviction for possession of marijuana or paraphernalia.
“The data shows the deeply rooted bias in drug-related arrests and sentencing. Cannabis convictions for hundreds of thousands of people here in Maryland were Scarlet Letters, modern day shackles,” added Maryland’s Attorney General Anthony Brown.
“This morning, I can almost hear the clanging of those shackles falling to the floor.”
The pardons will not result in anyone being released from jail, the governor’s office said.
The action was cheered by criminal justice reform activists including Jason Ortiz, director of strategic initiatives for the Last Prisoner Project, who recounted being arrested at 16 for cannabis possession.
“I was thrown out of school, denied access to my high school education, ripped from my family and my friends, and had to endure two years of isolation for a simple cannabis possession charge,” he said.
“The Last Prisoner Project applauds Governor Moore (and) his administration’s actions to rectify the historic racial disparities caused by cannabis prohibition… Today is literally the most powerful day in cannabis justice history for the entire nation. That’s an incredible thing.”
Heather Warnken, executive director at the Center for Criminal Justice Reform at the University of Baltimore Law School, called the action a “win for thousands of Marylanders getting a fresh start,” but also a victory for the legitimacy of the justice system itself.
“We have a lot of work to do, but for this moment here today, we celebrate this first step,” she said.
“We celebrate the justice and dignity and restoration that it represents and, filled with that momentum, tomorrow, we keep forging ahead.”
AFP
Chelsea reliable defender, Marc Cucurella may join Spanish giant, Real Madrid before the end of the current transfer window.if information from transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano are anything to go by.
Romano In a latest transfer update, said Real Madrid has reached verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.
“Verbal agreement in place between all parties, player too — he’s the left back wanted by Mourinho” the update read.
FIFA has come under scrutiny after several high-profile players, including Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Junior, were discouraged from speaking Spanish during media engagements at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.
The issue first surfaced ahead of Morocco’s Group C clash with Brazil when a Spanish-speaking journalist attempted to question Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi in Spanish.
Despite Hakimi, who grew up in Madrid and speaks the language fluently, indicating he was comfortable answering in Spanish, event officials reportedly insisted that questions be asked in English.
Hakimi attempted to reassure organizers that language would not be a barrier, but officials maintained that no Spanish translator was available for the session. A compromise was eventually reached, with the reporter asking the question in Spanish while Hakimi responded in English.
The controversy intensified during Brazil’s media session when Vinicius Junior was also interrupted while responding to a question in Spanish.
The Real Madrid forward, who is more comfortable speaking Portuguese or Spanish than English, was reportedly asked by organizers to switch languages.
Rather than continue in Spanish, Vinicius opted to answer in Portuguese before turning his attention back to Brazil’s World Cup preparations.
The incidents sparked widespread debate among journalists and fans, many of whom questioned why Spanish—a language spoken by millions across North America—was effectively restricted at a tournament being hosted largely in the United States.
According to Spanish media outlet El País, FIFA only provides Spanish-language translation services at World Cup press conferences involving Spanish-speaking nations such as Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
For all other teams, questions and answers are expected to be conducted either in English or the official language of the participating country.
The policy has generated criticism online, with many supporters arguing that multilingual communication should be encouraged at a global event like the World Cup.
The backlash was particularly strong in Vinicius’ case, as the Brazilian forward appeared visibly uncomfortable being asked to communicate in English.
The controversy overshadowed what was otherwise a highly anticipated encounter between Brazil and Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
With the issue now drawing international attention, FIFA may face increasing calls to review its media language guidelines as the tournament progresses.
Human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has warned federal and state governments against negotiating with and rewarding terrorists.
According to Falana, the practice is illegal.
He stated this while delivering the keynote address at the Amnesty International Second Annual General Meeting in Abuja on June 13, 2026.
Falana claimed it is public knowledge officials of the Federal Government and some State Governments have been holding meetings and negotiating with terrorists and bandits, which has led to thousands of ‘repentant’ criminals being forgiven and given cash gifts of undisclosed sums of money.
Asserting that the “satanic Boko Haram sect and similar bodies have been proscribed” under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, Falana insisted that “their members and allies shall be prosecuted and not pampered and forgiven by the Nigerian State.”
Highlighting the legal consequences, he quoted Section 22 of the Act, stating: “A person who knowingly—(a) arranges, manages, assists in arranging or managing, participates in a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, (b) collects, or provides logistics, equipment, information, articles or facilities for a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, or (c) attends a meeting, which in his knowledge is to support a proscribed entity or to further the objectives of a proscribed entity, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least 20 years.”
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