Report: Ohio Gov. Has No Plans to Pardon Low-Level Cannabis Crimes

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has no immediate plans to grant mass pardons for Ohioans with low-level cannabis offenses, according to a report from Axios. Adult-use cannabis sales began in Ohio the first week of this month. 

DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney told Axios that while the governor is not planning any executive action on pardons, the administration is monitoring potential action by state lawmakers, who have proposed various bills to expunge previous convictions for low-level cannabis possession charges, but none have reached the governor’s desk. 

State Rep. Ismail Mohamed (D) told WCMH in April that the charges impact employment, housing, and higher education opportunities for Ohioans. 

Governors in other states have approved pardons for previous crimes that are now legal in the wake of adult-use cannabis laws. According to a NORML report released in June, policy reforms have led to about 2.5 million expungements or pardons for cannabis convictions in recent years. In April, the Massachusetts Governor’s Council unanimously approved the mass pardoning request by Gov. Maura Healey (D) for cannabis possession convictions in the state. That action took effect immediately after the vote and theoretically wiped out all misdemeanor cannabis possession-related convictions ever handed out under Massachusetts state law. In July, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced the mass pardoning of about 175,000 cannabis convictions in the state.  

Since the legalization of cannabis, leaders in many states – and even cities in states that have not passed the reforms – have pardoned or expunged low-level cannabis crimes.