You are hardly alone if a police stop decades ago netted you a criminal conviction for possession of a small amount of marijuana.
In fact, you are a member of a large and varied crowd of state residents. Maybe you had the misfortunate as a college student in the 1970s of being arrested in a campus enforcement sting. Perhaps you were stopped while driving home, with police finding a couple joints in your car. Or it might have been the case that you were busted at a concert or while simply participating in any number of other activities.
If you were convicted on a pot-linked charge as a result, you have likely endured some level of adverse consequences ever since.
Importantly, that might no longer be the case. In a development tinged by a better-late-than-never acknowledgment, a high number of Colorado residents received a material reprieve last Thursday.
It was prefaced by a notable comment delivered by Gov. Jared Polis, who stated that authorities have now finally taken action aimed at “cleaning up some of the inequities of the past.”
The bottom line: Polis inked an executive order that automatically pardoned more than 2,7000 individuals who were convicted in the past of simply possessing an ounce of marijuana or less.
The mass pardon marks concrete action that commands broad and bipartisan support across the state. The governor’s order follows a legislative bill passed earlier this year authorizing such a justice-enhancing move. Polis noted that the pardon will help Colorado come to terms “with one aspect of the past, failed policy of marijuana prohibition.”
There might understandably be a number of questions surrounding pardon specifics. They can be directed to an established Colorado criminal defense legal team.