Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity and the Pardon Project Steering Committee started this petition to the Governor and the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons: 

On July 8, 2022, eleven people whose only crime in life was possessing, using or delivering marijuana – and whose lives were forever changed by their conviction for that crime – delivered a Petition to the Governor, the Lt. Governor, the Attorney General, and the PA Board of Pardons, asking them to pardon everyone who had been convicted under Pennsylvania law for a non-violent marijuana-specific crime.  You can read their Petition here:   

What’s happened with the Petition? Nothing, at least so far. Instead, on September 1, 2022, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the Board of Pardons announced a one-time pardon program limited to just the two lowest-level marijuana misdemeanors. That program ended on September 30, 2022. While it generated over 3,500 applications, that is a drop in the bucket compared to the over 50,000 convictions obtained under the same two laws in just the last ten years.

Estimates are that the lives of more than 100,000 people would be immediately changed for the better if the Petition is granted and the general pardon signed. Studies have shown that pardons bring financial security to families and millions of new dollars to communities that need them, and make our state’s workforce stronger and more competitive.

Criminal records – no matter how old – make it almost impossible for individuals and their families to reach their potentials, which hurts us all.  Drug crimes can be worst of all: they put an end to hundreds of jobs, careers, licenses, credit, loans, higher education, apprenticeship programs, housing, serving as a guardian for elderly parents or young children, volunteer service, and more.

The only way in Pennsylvania to get a conviction off your record is by getting a pardon from the Governor, and the only way to get to the Governor is by getting a recommendation by the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons after a public hearing.  

It’s not right that the Petition is stuck in the bureaucracy.  The Governor should have the opportunity to forgive all non-violent marijuana crimes and allow Pennsylvania to move beyond a past that was born in racism and injustice.  

Let the Governor decide! 

Sign This Petition:

To the Governor of Pennsylvania and the Board of Pardons:

Tens of thousands of people all across Pennsylvania are being hurt each and every day, in countless ways, just because they or a member of their family was convicted of a non-violent marijuana crime. That makes no sense at all.  Neither does continuing to wait for the Pennsylvania legislature to do something to fix this problem. 

Pennsylvania’s Governor has the power to pardon crimes with just his signature.  He has the opportunity to end once and for all the collateral consequences of marijuana convictions, and to release the potential not just of those who have been convicted, but their families and their communities.  That would make things better for all of us.

If there is a legal reason why the Governor or the Board of Pardons thinks they cannot do this, then make that reason public so it can be debated with the experts who disagree. 

In the meantime, Governor, demand a hearing on the Petition!  And Board of Pardons, give the Petition the public hearing it deserves.

Let the Governor decide!