Prohibit Retail Sale of Recreational Marijuana
Would repeal the 2016 law that legalized recreational marijuana sales, ending the state's retail cannabis industry while keeping small-amount possession legal.
A YES vote
Repeals the laws that allow recreational marijuana to be sold, taxed, regulated, and grown at home in Massachusetts. Adults 21 and older could still possess up to one ounce without penalty; possessing one to two ounces (or up to two ounces if under 21) would carry a civil fine instead of jail time. The Cannabis Control Commission would continue regulating medical marijuana only. If it passes, Massachusetts would be the first state to unwind a voter-approved legalization law.
A NO vote
Keeps the current legal retail marijuana market and home cultivation rules in place, as they've operated since voters passed legalization in 2016.
Who this affects
- Adult-use cannabis customers
- Licensed dispensaries and their employees, who would lose their business
- Cities and towns that currently collect cannabis tax revenue
Who's for it, who's against it
Supporters say
The Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts sponsored the petition, aligned with the national group Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
Opponents say
Stop the Repeal, run through the Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation, leads the opposition, joined by cannabis industry and retail groups.
Who's paying for the campaigns
Funding the YES side
SAM Action Inc., a Virginia nonprofit that doesn't disclose its own donors, has supplied about $3.2 million — nearly all of the YES side's money.
Funding the NO side
The in-state cannabis industry has raised roughly $1.6 million to oppose the repeal, through Stop the Repeal and the Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation.
Figures reflect filings as of late August 2026 and will shift before Election Day.
Official summary and full text: Secretary of the Commonwealth, Information for Voters. Background and funding figures compiled from nonpartisan research by Tufts University's Center for State Policy Analysis and OCPF campaign finance filings.