Clemency for Cannabis Convictions Now

The failed policies of the War on Drugs – including harsh sentences, over-criminalization, and surveillance of Black and Brown communities – have perpetuated racial disparities in the criminal legal system and contributed to mass incarceration for decades. This unjust reality includes countless people locked behind bars or haunted by convictions for marijuana-related offenses across the country. It must end.

President Biden already used his powers of clemency to pardon people with federal convictions of simple marijuana possession – ensuring that thousands of people whose lives have been upended by a criminal conviction have the possibility of fewer barriers to housing, employment, education, and stability. Governors in states such as Oregon, Illinois, and Pennsylvania have already taken historic steps to provide pardons for marijuana-related convictions. But more still must be done: It's time for more governors to act. Please, join the ACLU in this fight for redemption: Send a message to your governor today and tell them to use their power of clemency to pardon people for marijuana-related offenses under state laws.

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Subject Clemency for Cannabis Convictions

A majority of Americans support clemency as one of many tools for correcting harsh sentences that were motivated by outdated policies – and there is increasingly bipartisan support for addressing significant racial bias in marijuana arrests. With this in mind, I’m reaching out as your constituent to urge you to use your power of clemency to pardon people with convictions for marijuana possession under our state laws if you have not already. Even if you do not have sole authority in our state to grant this clemency unilaterally, your influence has extreme weight to demand and ensure pardons happen. Please take action today.

Message Body

The path to justice is through our values of equity, care, and humanity – not vengeance or criminalization. Please, use your power and authority to ensure clemency is used to address our state's outdated and racially-biased practices – and to pardon people with marijuana convictions now. Of course, if you have already taken this important action, then please know you have our utmost gratitude.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Clemency for Cannabis Convictions Now

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