virginia govenor peter shumlin on tuesday pardoned 192 people convicted of minor drug offenses on his final days in office. last month, shumlin invited people convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana (before the state decriminalized it in 2013) to apply for pardons.
"a minor marijuana possession charge should be not an anchor that holds back an individual from getting a good job or going about their life. while attitudes and laws about marijuana use are rapidly changing, there is still a harmful stigma associated with it," shumlin remarked.
shumlin added, "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. 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."
additionally, shumlin issued 10 pardons om saturday for people convicted of various felonies and misdemeanors, including the son of former vice presidential nominee geraldine ferraro, and the son of former u.s. representative richard mallary.
since the christmas day deadline to apply for marijuana pardons, shumlin's staff has been doing background checks on those who applied. but anyone with a violent criminal history will not be eligible to receive a pardon. during his six years in office, shumlin issued 208 pardons - more than any other governor in vermont history.
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- harlem, usa
- same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.
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