Nearly 200 of the approximately 450 people who asked Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont to forgive their misdemeanor marijuana convictions had their wish fulfilled this week.

In one of his final acts in office, Governor Shumlin on Tuesday pardoned 192 people convicted of marijuana possession, fulfilling a promise he made early last month to consider forgiveness for anyone who applied by Christmas.

“While attitudes and laws about marijuana use are rapidly changing, there is still a harmful stigma associated with it,” Mr. Shumlin, a Democrat, said in a statement on Tuesday. “My hope was to help as many individuals as I could overcome that stigma and the very real struggles that too often go along with it.”

Such charges can stand in the way of finding work, being accepted to college and traveling internationally.