PENNSYLVANIA — Governor Tom Wolf and Lt. Governor John Fetterman’s PA Marijuana Pardon Project is giving Pennsylvanians with minor marijuana convictions the opportunity to be pardoned quickly. The deadline to apply through the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons is this Friday, September 30, 2022, and more than 2,500 people have already applied.
“Pennsylvanians convicted of simple marijuana charges are automatically disqualified for so many life opportunities: jobs, education, housing, special moments with family. This is wrong,” said Gov. Wolf.
PA Marijuana Pardon Project is a statewide effort to identify and pardon Pennsylvanians with non-violent, low-level marijuana convictions. The project is being spearheaded by Lt. Governor John Fetterman and the PA Board of Pardons. Eligible individuals can apply for a pardon through the PA Board of Pardons’ website.
“Good people are being held back from living their best lives because of some old nonviolent weed charge,” said Lt. Gov. Fetterman. “Now is the time to apply, because we have no idea how long the legislature will continue refusing common sense legalization.”
It is estimated that thousands of individuals are eligible for a pardon due to convictions over the past several decades, even pre-dating marijuana’s inclusion as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Anyone with only the two select marijuana offenses noted below on their record is eligible to apply, and there is no limit for the age of the conviction.
The PA Marijuana Pardon Project is part of Lt. Governor Fetterman’s broader criminal justice reform initiative. In addition to pardoning individuals with low-level marijuana offenses, the initiative also includes creating a task force to study the legalization of recreational marijuana and automatic expungement of nonviolent misdemeanors after 10 years of being conviction-free.
The PA Board of Pardons will review all applications and make recommendations to the Governor for a final pardon decision. People eligible for the opportunity to be pardoned are those with one or both of the following convictions:
- Possession of Marijuana (Title 35 Section 780-113 Subsection A31)
- Marijuana, Small Amount Personal Use (Title 35 Section 780-113 Subsection A31I)
The online application for an accelerated pardon through this one-time project is available at pa.gov/mjpardon. Once a person submits their application, they will be contacted if any necessary follow-up is needed.
If a person lacks the necessary technology to apply online, Pennsylvania CareerLink® centers have offered their locations as a resource. PA CareerLink centers have computers that are open to the public to complete job searches, update resumes, prepare for interviews, and now, apply for this large-scale pardon project. To find a local PA CareerLink, login to www.pacareerlink.pa.gov, scroll to the bottom of the page, and select a county.
Those who are not eligible to apply for a pardon through this project because they have additional criminal convictions on their record are being encouraged to apply for clemency using a standard application available at bop.pa.gov.
While a pardon constitutes complete forgiveness, those whose pardons are granted will still need to petition the court for an expungement of the conviction from their record.
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