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
Super Falcons head coach Justine Madugu says he is not afraid of losing his job despite mounting pressure following Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Madugu’s future has come under intense scrutiny after the Super Falcons suffered a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the decisive CAF play-off in Morocco.
The loss ended Nigeria’s remarkable record of qualifying for every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991.
For the first time since 1991, Nigeria will miss the Women’s World Cup.
The pressure on Madugu intensified after the Super Falcons failed to secure automatic World Cup qualification at the WAFCON.
With calls growing for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to make changes to the technical setup, Madugu insists he is prepared to accept whatever decision the football authorities make.
The coach said representing Nigeria has been a privilege and that he has no fear of being relieved of his position.
“I am not afraid of being sacked. To the glory of God, I have served my country. It was a privilege that was given to me,” Madugu said.
He added, “So far, I have played almost 28 games, won 19, lost four and drawn four. But this defeat came at crucial moments that people did not expect.”
Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, says it is the responsibility of the government to use public funds to support marriage arrangements in states operating under Shariah law.
In a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, Gumi argued that governments in Shariah-governed societies have a duty to address social needs arising from the prohibition of sexual relationships outside marriage.
The Islamic scholar noted that government intervention to assist people who cannot afford marriage should be viewed as part of responsible governance, especially where prostitution, fornication, adultery and promiscuity are prohibited by both religious principles and state laws.
According to him, public resources could legitimately be used to support young people in urgent need of marriage, as well as women who face limited opportunities to find suitable spouses.
“In a Shariah law-driven state, where prostitution, fornication, adultery, and promiscuity are prohibited by both divine and state laws, using public funds to facilitate the marriage of women who are in excess of the available pool of eligible men, or of any young person in dire need of marriage, is a legitimate and responsible component of good governance,” he wrote.
President Bola Tinubu decried the big task of successfully managing a democratic government, highlighting what he described as
It’s twists, turns, hills and valleys, even as the president assured Nigerians that the nation’s refineries will bounce back.
The President also lamented that the expected benefits from the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) are going into the pockets of truck owners.
This came as the President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, pleaded with President Tinubu to help stop the casualisation of workers in the oil industry.
Speaking when he received the NUPENG leadership at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President said the union has been a very good partner in government’s progress.
“You occupy a very critical nerve of the economy of this country,” he said.
He recalled the promise he made while seeking the presidency that he would remove the fuel subsidy and the threat by oil and gas workers to down tools. “We had threat of possible strike and something, and I served notice; you may strike all you want, but fuel subsidy will be gone. And today, to the benefit of our great country.”
“I will soon publish how it is being utilized,” he said, adding that workers at local, state and federal levels are reaping the benefits of subsidy removal through prompt payment of salaries, while landmark infrastructural projects are underway across the country.
“Yes, the economy is not child’s play. It’s a system of financial re-engineering and reset that you impress, and I want to thank you for the cooperation, collaboration and understanding.
“But I’m glad you have seen the effect of being able to find funding for long-term projects: Lagos–Ibadan Road, Abuja–Kaduna, Abuja–Kano, Sokoto–Badagry and other highways and road networks. It’s all for the good of our people and our economy.
“Equally, the introduction of compressed natural gas — well, I will appeal to you: we will do more and encourage you, but ask your drivers to let the benefits trickle down to commuters too, because whatever benefit is coming from CNG is going into the pockets of truck owners. It’s not spreading as fast as I would like, but it should spread.
“The refineries you mentioned are going to come back to work. We’re just building a very firm reset and structural reworking of the economics of it. Ordinary flame and smoke from a refinery doesn’t mean that it’s working until it’s profitable and yields the value for which it was built.
“I’m not a man who will look back and blame everyone, because I’ve accepted the assets and liabilities of my predecessors. No matter what happened in the past years, it’s my responsibility now as President to fix it and make it work for the greatest common good of our population. I take responsibility for that, and I’m going to do it.”
He added: “It’s not easy to manage a democratic regime, full of twists and turns, hills and valleys. But through perseverance, endurance and good determination we can bring about relief — like the joy of a newborn baby after a difficult pregnancy. Motherhood is painful, but the joy is everlasting. I promise you, you will enjoy a better Nigeria.”
Speaking earlier, NUPENG president Comrade Oladiti appealed to the President to check the casualisation of workers in the oil industry.
The NUPENG president, who described the trend as unwholesome, expressed concern that efforts to make oil companies, particularly in the upstream sector, stop the practice have been constantly rebuffed.
He said: “Your Excellency, our relationship with the international oil companies and indigenous players in the upstream sector has been very cordial. However, we want to seize this opportunity to bring to your attention an unhealthy trend we have been trying to correct with little to no success. It is the casualisation of workers, particularly in the upstream sector.
“For a sector that is strategic and taken as the economic jugular of the nation, NUPENG and its counterpart PENGASSAN have been tolerating these unwholesome practices, knowing full well the enormous disruption that any industrial action could cause to the economy.
“We also do not want to be seen as hostile to the Minister of Labour, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, who has been very supportive and operates an open-door policy in his relationship with our union.
“We have engaged the management of some of the affected companies without results. Mr. President, we urge you to use your good offices to stop the casualisation of workers in our sector.”
While commending the present administration for rehabilitation and dualisation of federal highways — which he noted will ease movement of petroleum trucks — Oladiti also appealed to President Tinubu to see to the resuscitation of the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) depots across the country.
He maintained that injecting life into the depots would complement the ongoing efforts to revive the ailing refineries.
He said: “We’ve seen real progress in the rehabilitation of federal highways, making journeys safer for our tanker drivers.
“We also want to commend your administration’s move to revive the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries through partnership with Chinese firms. Your Excellency, we humbly request that the same energy and drive to inject life back into the refineries be extended to the decaying Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company depots across the country.
“We strongly recommend they be handed over to private investors to manage under an equity arrangement.”
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