
<p>To make things perfectly clear, I need to explain my personal view on the recreational use of marijuana. ; Though never a user (okay, tried it once), I have long advocated the decriminalization, and even legalization, of cannabis as a controlled substance – as we do with other addictive mind- and mood-altering substances, such as alcohol and tobacco (my personal preferences as a young man).</p>



<p>Based on my personal libertarian opinion, one might assume that I approve of Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s pardoning of 175,000 convicted drug abusers. Au contraire. </p>



<p>My first objection has to do with the concept of mass pardons. ; By definition, they are an abuse of the pardoning power we give the President and governors. ; The purpose of pardons, as envisioned by the Founders was a power to correct legitimate injustices on a personal level. ; People are convicted of crimes on a case-by-case basis. ; I have no doubt that among the 175,000 individuals Moore pardoned there are many that are undeserving. ; It is just a matter of logic and common sense.</p>



<p>Mass pardons suggest something more than correcting an injustice. ; Moore claims the pardons are for an economic benefit to society. ; In reality, it is a political action designed to gain political results. ; Moore is expecting something in return – and that something is the political loyalty of those receiving pardons and their family and friends.</p>



<p>It is no small irony that these pardons are coming from a Democrat politician. Democrats have been proffering campaign narratives that Republicans are undermining the judicial system with their criticism. After all, we are a nation that lives under the rule of law – and no one is above the law. We are to believe that the justice system operates in an objective nonpartisan manner above reproach. That is what those on the left keep telling us.</p>



<p>Obviously, Moore does not believe that.  ;In pardoning those 175,000 individuals – who violated the rule of law &#8212; he is effectively saying “the law be damned.”  ; ;He operates as an autocrat, kicking to the curb the role of legislators, police, prosecutors, juries and judges – and the law itself. ; ; After all, those pardoned did break the law and were found guilty by the system we are supposed to respect unconditionally. ; Or so they claim.</p>



<p>(Blind respect for the judicial system does not seem to apply to the Supreme Court and other judges that do not follow progressive desires. ; But that is another story, and I digress.)</p>



<p>Moore does not respect the rule of law but imposes his singularly personal opinion in defiance of the rule of law. ; He uses executive power to interfere with the wheels of justice and reject the work of the legislature.</p>



<p>That does not mean that we must concede that all laws are good. ; America has lived, from time to time, under some very bad laws – especially those that were later determined to have violated the Constitution – including slavery laws, the Chinese Exclusion Act and the more contemporary gang loitering laws. ; (in those cases, I do favor pardons for those convicted under laws later deemed unconstitutional by the courts).  ;</p>



<p>The drug convictions are not that. They are more like the arrests under prohibition laws of the twentieth century. Following the Moore theory, perhaps we should have issued mass pardons to the bootleggers and even Mafia rum runners.</p>



<p>Moore’s is just the latest example of the abuse of pardon powers. Presidents have made it a sad tradition of pardoning family, friends and political allies for no good reason other than they could. In 2003, Illinois Governor George Ryan – facing criminal prosecution himself – commuted the sentences of 167 prisoners on death row. Another travesty of justice. And I say that as a person who leans against capital punishment.</p>



<p>What Moore did was use (abuse, in my opinion) his power as head of the Maryland executive branch to meddle in the judicial branch and override the legislative branch. ; He took on the role of judge and jury. ; Even worse, he nullified the rule of law by executive edict.</p>



<p>In terms of pardons, we grant the President and governors absolute power – and we know that such power corrupts. ; Moore gives us a prime example of the truth of that axiom</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis,</p>

Maryland governor pardons 175,000 drug felons
