Pennsylvania offers a one-time pardon application for select lower-level marijuana convictions

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman announced a joint effort Thursday to pardon many people convicted with non-violent marijuana offenses. The large-scale project, called the Pennsylvania Marijuana Pardon Project, will allow people with select convictions to submit an application online for an official pardon from the state.

The website will allow Pennsylvanians to submit applications between Sept. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2022. The reason for the expedited timeline is the expiration of Wolf’s term, which will end when the new gubernatorial candidate is sworn into office on Jan. 17, 2023.

According to a press release on the project, Wolf has granted 2,098 pardons since taking office, 326 of which were part of an “expedited review for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses.” This is in contrast to the 1,805 total pardons that were granted in the 15 years prior to Gov. Wolf’s time in office, the release said.

“I have repeatedly called on our Republican-led General Assembly to support the legalization of adult-use marijuana, but they’ve yet to meet this call for action from myself and Pennsylvanians,” Wolf said in the release. “Until they do, I am committed to doing everything in my power to support Pennsylvanians who have been adversely affected by a minor marijuana offense on their record.”

[Read more at CBS News]