Denver, Colorado – Many Coloradans will be starting the new year with clean records after Governor Jared Polis announced his latest pardons for minor marijuana possession crimes.

Weed has been legal in Colorado for adults over the age of 21 since 2012.

In May 2021, Polis signed a bill that increased the legal amount an individual is allowed to possess to two ounces.

Polis previously pardoned all convicted in the state of possessing less than one ounce of weed.

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But with the expansion of the legal possession limit, many people with prior marijuana-related convictions still had marks on their criminal records – even though they would receive no penalty today.

That changed for many Coloradans on Thursday, when Polis issued pardons to 1,351 people who had been convicted of possessing under two ounces of marijuana.

"Adults can legally possess marijuana in Colorado, just as they can beer or wine," the Democratic governor said in a statement.

"It’s unfair that 1,351 additional Coloradans had permanent blemishes on their record that interfered with employment, credit, and gun ownership, but today we have fixed that by pardoning their possession of small amounts of marijuana that occurred during the failed prohibition era."

Polis encouraged localities to take a similar tack, as many marijuana-related charges are filed at the municipal level – and outside his jurisdiction to pardon them.