By Ramone Tarnaski

Democratic Governor Tom Wolf has pardoned dozens of low-level marijuana offenders, according to a new report from the Center for Public Integrity. The pardons were granted under an accelerated procedure initiated last September by the Pardon Committee. To date, the governor has pardoned nearly 100 marijuana offenders at an accelerated pace, and the process, led by Lt. Rep. John Fetterman, was strongly supported by his office.

In recent months, lawmakers and authorities in several states have taken the unusual step of reviewing and erasing the criminal records of low-level offenders already convicted of marijuana offenses.

In California alone, more than 100,000 citizens were removed from their files, and in several other states, including Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, and Washington, authorities pardoned tens of thousands of citizens. Officials are acting quickly to correct past mistakes in the prohibition and criminalization of cannabis. Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, said: "Millions of our citizens suffer from behavior that most Americans no longer consider a crime, but which is still considered a crime in a number of states across the country because of marijuana's legal status.