Former Police Chief Sees Merit in Pot Pardon Proposal

Gov. Maura Healey's plan to pardon misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions could impact hundreds of thousands of people and represents "the most comprehensive action take by a governor" since President Joe Biden pardoned federal marijuana possession convictions, the governor's office said Wednesday.

If approved by the Governor's Council, most people affected by Healey's pardon plan would not need to take any action to have their criminal records updated and the pardons would apply to all adult Massachusetts state court misdemeanor convictions before March 13, 2024 for possession of marijuana.

Healey announced her plan during an event at the State House's Grand Staircase joined in the front row by Senate President Karen Spilka, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, Cannabis Control Commission Acting Chair Ava Callender Concepcion, and Governor's Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney.

"The reason we do this is simple -- justice requires it," Healey told the crowd.

Asked for comment, former long-time Franklin Police Chief, Lawrence Benedetto, provided many...

"I think there needs to be some recognition that there are a great number of our fellow citizens, many in middle age, who have a criminal record for behavior that is now legal. Further, that record may still impact their lives and limit certain licensing or business endeavors. There is a question of fairness and justice in that," he wrote.

Secondly, he continued, "we daily see the advertisements of research and possible medical benefits that may be possible, if not probable, re marijuana, particularly relative to pain and possibly effects of chemo, among others. These two realities may be part of the governor’s logic."

Conversely, the laws were broken," but many say that it was bad law, much like prohibition was bad law, and bad laws are widely broken and eventually reversed, leaving behind the many that may have been victims of those laws. So what is appropriate?"

Lastly, "we cannot deny that a great number of young Americans, who largely lead law abiding lives, have been somewhat tainted and in fairness may be deserving of correction. The key word is “young” and that perhaps is the determinant. In conclusion, based on my limited knowledge of her thinking, I concur with the decision...," Benedetto said.

Benedetto also noted that the matter of individuals involved in the drug trade and who had been involved in corruption or violence were a completely different matter.