Democratic governor pardons more than 11,000 drug offenders

Thousands of low-level drug offenders had their convictions wiped clean this week when Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker granted more than 11,000 pardons ahead of a sweeping state law legalizing recreational cannabis.

Pritzker granted the 11,017 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions on Tuesday, just a day before the state’s new Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act took effect. The law made Illinois the 11th state in the United States to legalize marijuana for recreational use by adults who are age 21 or older.