Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a sweeping executive order Monday issuing pardons for more than 175,000 marijuana and drug paraphernalia convictions.

The mass order for low-level possession charges will be given to nearly 100,000 people, The Washington Post reported.

Moore said the decision is intended to address decades of social and economic injustice, including Marylanders of color being denied housing, employment and educational opportunities based on minor criminal records.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) made history Monday with a mass pardoning of more than 175,000 marijuana convictions, a move he said would changes the lives of tens of thousands of Marylanders after the state legalized recreational cannabis last year.

“We know that legalization does not turn back the clock on decades of harm that was caused by the war on drugs,” Moore said during a pardoning ceremony at the State House on Monday.

Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order pardoning an estimated 175,000 of marijuana-related convictions on Monday.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will issue a mass pardon of more than 175,000 marijuana convictions Monday morning, one of the nation’s most sweeping acts of clemency involving a drug now in widespread recreational use.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed Thursday its move to change the federal status of marijuana, proposing to reclassify it from Schedule I to Schedule III, ABC News reported.

President Joe Biden’s administration said Thursday that the Justice Department is officially moving forward with reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

Cannabis stocks including Tilray (TLRY.O),  Curaleaf (CURA.TO), and the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (YOLO.P), rallied on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a historic proposal to ease restrictions on marijuana.

Under the proposal, cannabis would be reclassified from a so-called Schedule I drug, which are considered highly additive with no medical benefits, to a Schedule III, signifying it has moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.

The Biden administration is seeking to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic move that could make it much easier to buy and sell pot and make the multibillion-dollar industry more profitable. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday submitted a proposal for White House review that would move marijuana out of the government’s most restrictive drug classification. Marijuana has been designated as a Schedule I drug since 1970, alongside LSD and heroin.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced on Tuesday that it will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, Fox News has confirmed. 

The planned move by the Biden administration comes during an election year.

This proposal, if passed, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. 

However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.