Colorado Gov grants (mass?) pardon to those with certain psychedelics convictions

As reported in this Marijuana Moment article, the “governor of Colorado has announced a first-ever round of mass pardons for people with psilocybin-related convictions.”  Here is more:

Just about two weeks after Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a bill into law empowering him and future governors to issue clemency for people who’ve committed psychedelics offenses, he announced during a speech at the Psychedelic Science 2025 conference on Wednesday that he’s exercising that authority. The pardons he’s granting through executive order will provide relief to anyone with a state-level conviction for psilocybin and psilocyn possession….

At the conference, the governor stressed that, while his executive order covers state-level convictions, the major of people with psychedelics-related records were prosecuted at the local level, so he urged people to reach out to their city council representatives and mayors and ask them to pursue similar clemency actions….

The psychedelics clemency move comes several years after Polis issued mass pardons for people with prior marijuana convictions.

The recently enacted psychedelics legislation from Sen. Matt Ball (D) and Rep. Lisa Feret (D) authorizes governors to grant clemency to people with convictions for low-level possession of substances such as psilocybin, ibogaine and DMT that have since been legalized.

Interestingly, this press release from the office of Governor Polis provides some interesting data on how many (or how few) are impacted by the Governor’s various clemency actions:

This Executive Order applies to all state level possession convictions for psilocybin or psilocin. The individuals who have these convictions did not need to apply for pardons, and the Governor’s Office has not conducted individual assessments of the people who have been pardoned through this process…. The State has identified four convictions for psilocybin and psilocin possession that will be pardoned by this Executive Order.

In 2020, Governor Polis issued an Executive Order pardoning Coloradans with marijuana possession convictions of one ounce or less, pardoning 2,732 total convictions. In 2021, following increases to the legal amount of marijuana a person could possess, Governor Polis pardoned another 1,351 possession convictions. This action removed barriers for Coloradans whose past convictions were no longer illegal under current laws.