[I]n his final days in office, Gov. Peter Shumlin pardoned 192 people convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana.
The batch of pardons brings the total the outgoing governor has issued during his six-year tenure to 208, according to a spokesperson. The administration claims that total sets a record for the most by any Vermont governor.
Shumlin, who leaves office this week, announced in December he would consider offering pardons for people who were convicted of possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, as long as they had no felonies or violent offenses on their record.
Some 450 people applied for a pardon in the course of about two weeks.
After conducting background checks and reviewing criminal histories for violent offenses or convictions for impaired or reckless driving, Shumlin decided to pardon 192.
In a statement Tuesday, Shumlin said marijuana possession convictions should not be “an anchor” prohibiting people from moving forward with their lives. Misdemeanor charges could affect employment, college applications, international travel or professional licensing, according to his statement.
“While attitudes and laws about marijuana use are rapidly changing, there is still a harmful stigma associated with it,” Shumlin said. “My hope was to help as many individuals as I could overcome that stigma and the very real struggles that too often go along with it.”
Possession of up to an ounce of marijuana was decriminalized in Vermont in 2013, and it is possible to have possession convictions expunged through a court process.
Shumlin urged Vermont to legalize and regulate marijuana, a cause he championed during the last legislative session. Though a legalization bill passed the Senate in 2016, it stalled and died in the House.
“Vermont should follow the many states that are legalizing and regulating the use of marijuana and put to an end the incredible failure that is the War on Drugs,” he said.
The presumptive next speaker of the Vermont House, Rep. Mitzi Johnson, has said she expects the issue will come up again.
Shumlin announced he was pardoning 10 other people, including several for marijuana-related felonies, over the weekend.
Gov.-elect Phil Scott spokesperson Rebecca Kelley said in a statement that the incoming governor hoped Shumlin would review and decide on each application before he left office.
“We are pleased to see that Governor Shumlin has made a decision on every pardon application and trust the appropriate determination was made for each,” Kelley said.
She reiterated Scott’s stance that he “does not feel now is the time to legalize marijuana.”
“Vermont should look to the other states who have legalized, to learn what we can around the public safety and social impacts of the policy, and then have the conversation with more information,” Kelley said. “For the upcoming legislative session, the Governor-elect is focused on tackling the more immediate economic issues facing Vermont and Vermonters.”
