April 20, 2026Updated April 22, 2026, 11:17 a.m. ET
- After starting as a long shot, a ballot proposal to roll back marijuana legalization in the state was certified by the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office by the Jan. 7 deadline.
- In addition to Massachusetts, Maine and Arizona are also looking to advance ballot questions that would roll back those states’ marijuana legalization laws.
- Ballot initiatives can have surprising outcomes, but it’s “a tough sell” in Massachusetts.
Voters may have the chance to reverse the eight-year-old law allowing recreational cannabis sales in Massachusetts this November.
After starting as a long shot, a ballot proposal to roll back marijuana legalization in the state was certified by the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office by the Jan. 7 deadline after garnering over 78,000 signatures.
The initiative is part of a trend being seen nationally, said Daniel Mallinson, a professor at Penn State Harrisburg who studies cannabis policy.
“For the last like 25, almost now 30 years this year, all the ballot activity has driven marijuana forward in terms of legalization,” he said. “But now we’re starting to see some attempts at rollback through the ballot including in Massachusetts.”
The proposals are driven by a feeling held by some that America changed its values too quickly on the drug, director of UMass Poll Tatishe Nteta said. In addition to Massachusetts, Maine and Arizona are also looking to advance ballot questions that would roll back those states’ marijuana legalization laws. In Oklahoma, new restrictions on medical marijuana are going into effect this year.
While the Massachusetts proposal faces a few more steps and a challenge from an opposing group, it appears likely it will get on the ballot. But it’s unclear what its chances are of actually passing in a state that has had legal weed for a decade.
“Retrenchment of an established policy which was popularly supported is relatively rare,” said Nteta.
What is the marijuana proposal?
The ballot question would repeal provisions in the current marijuana law that allow for the drug to be sold commercially in the state. If it passed, recreational marijuana shops would have to convert to medical marijuana shops or sell their inventory to them. It would also repeal adults’ right to cultivate cannabis at home.
However, adults would still be allowed to carry up to 1 ounce of cannabis under the proposal, as well as gift cannabis to each other.
Wendy Wakeman, the chair of the committee behind the marijuana ballot question, said that supporters of the initiative believe that marijuana poses problems for public health, public safety and quality of life.
“It hasn’t been a good choice socially, walking through the Common, walking around Boston, the constant smell of pot. Pot is openly smoked, openly used in ways that alcohol and cigarettes just are not,” Wakeman said, adding that marijuana can also pose risks for children who might accidentally eat a weed gummy and for the roads if people are driving under the influence.
But opponents of the initiative, like the Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation, say that repealing recreational sales would endanger public health and safety by putting the state’s cannabis market “back under the control of criminal networks.”
Marijuana proposal likely to make ballot, despite challenge
Ballot proposals face a long road to get on the ballot in Massachusetts. The measures must receive enough signatures to be sent to the Legislature by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Then, if the Legislature doesn’t act on the proposals by the first Wednesday in May, petitioners must gather an additional 12,429 signatures for them to be placed on the November ballot.
Will marijuana legalization be rolled back in Massachusetts?
Ballot initiatives have been very important to marijuana legalization around the country, Mallinson said. Indeed, Massachusetts legalized the drug in a ballot initiative in 2016. Ballot proposals circumvent the legislature, so they don’t need the kind of compromise required to get a bill to the governor’s desk.
So, it’s perhaps unsurprising that opponents of legalization would use the same method to roll it back.
“If you can mobilize enough people to vote for the measure, then things that otherwise wouldn’t be adopted by the normal government or legislative process can be passed,” Mallinson said.
However, he said he would be surprised if it passed in Massachusetts, which has only expanded marijuana legalization since 2016.
For example, retail sales of cannabis became legal in 2018. In 2024, Gov. Maura T. Healey retroactively pardoned misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions. And just this December, the Cannabis Control Commission approved the creation of new licenses that will allow people to purchase and use marijuana on-site at cannabis cafés or lounges, like buying alcohol in a bar.
Polls taken since legalization have also shown that Massachusetts residents largely approve legal weed. The MassINC Polling Group found in April 2024 that 65% of Massachusetts residents think that legalizing marijuana in the state was the right decision. A November 2021 UMass poll found that 61% thought legalizing marijuana was positive for the state, and an October 2023 poll found that a plurality thought there were the correct number of dispensaries in their community. While the polls are “mature,” Nteta said, they show an increase in support for marijuana since the initial ballot measure was passed by 53%.
Ballot initiatives can “always have surprising outcomes,” Mallinson said, but he thinks the type of proposal has a better chance in a more libertarian state like Maine or a conservative one like Oklahoma.
“I have a hard time believing that Massachusetts, that’s had recreational for a while, has a pretty big industry, you know, is a pretty blue state, I have a hard time believing that that would be the first state to potentially roll back a legalized marijuana program, either recreational or medical,” he said.
Even Wakeman thinks it’s “a tough sell.”
“There are so many people who are satisfied with recreational marijuana. I acknowledge that,” Wakeman said. “It’s worth us having a public conversation. That’s what an election is. It’s a public conversation.”
Author: MScannaBIZ
MScannaBIZ is here to make sure patients, businesses, and professionals never get left behind. We started in 2022 as a Mississippi cannabis news source, covering the legislation, the licenses, and the launches that shaped the state's emerging industry. As the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program took shape, so did we, evolving into the state's most comprehensive cannabis platform. Today MScannaBIZ is Mississippi's premier destination for finding licensed dispensaries, booking certified cannabis doctors, discovering deals and events, and staying informed with the latest industry news. With over 300 businesses in our directory and new listings added daily, we're the most complete cannabis resource in the state. Our mission is simple make Mississippi's medical cannabis ecosystem accessible, transparent, and thriving for everyone in it.