{"id":87168,"date":"2026-10-14T07:58:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T15:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/10\/14\/boston-mayor-opposes-massachusetts-ballot-measure-to-roll-back-marijuana-legalization\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T19:46:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T03:46:29","slug":"boston-mayor-opposes-massachusetts-ballot-measure-to-roll-back-marijuana-legalization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/10\/14\/boston-mayor-opposes-massachusetts-ballot-measure-to-roll-back-marijuana-legalization\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston Mayor Opposes Massachusetts Ballot Measure To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The mayor of the largest city in Massachusetts says she is voting against an initiative on the November ballot that seeks to roll back the state\u2019s cannabis legalization law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA decade ago, I was proud to be among the few elected officials who supported the ballot question to legalize cannabis and end decades of criminalization and its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities,\u201d Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D) said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, legalization has created new businesses and jobs and generated state and local revenue to support substance use recovery and public health programs,\u201d she said in a press release sent by the Stop the Repeal campaign that\u2019s working to defeat the anti-marijuana measure. \u201cI am voting No on 8 to protect that progress, not turn back the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign\u2019s release notes that Boston \u201chas one of the most robust cannabis equity programs in the nation, which helps to support individuals and communities disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs in achieving success within Boston\u2019s cannabis industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The city has more than 40 adult-use marijuana retailers, including 18 that participate in the equity program, eight economic empowerment participants and four that hold diverse business enterprise status, the campaign said\u2014adding that Boston generated more than $9.7 million in local cannabis tax revenue in fiscal years 2022-2025 and expects to earn another $3.6 million in fiscal year 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cMassachusetts not only has a legal adult-use cannabis system in place that prioritizes public health and consumer safety, but also allocates millions in cannabis tax revenue towards supporting entrepreneurs who were directly impacted by the War on Drugs,\u201d Ryan Dominguez, chair of the Stop the Repeal campaign, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful to have the support of Mayor Michelle Wu in defeating this damaging ballot question, helping to support local Boston businesses, jobs, and public health and safety programs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wu\u2019s newly announced position represents the latest high-profile endorsement for the campaign to defeat Question 8\u2014which would repeal laws allowing the regulated commercial sales of recreational cannabis and home cultivation while maintaining legal possession and continuing the medical marijuana system.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) both recently told Marijuana Moment that they will be voting against the anti-cannabis measure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could make improvements in the operations but legalizing cannabis is better than continuing an unregulated, underground market,\u201d Warren said. \u201cSo I\u2019m opposed to the repeal. I\u2019m voting no on the ballot to repeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Markey, for his part, said the state\u2019s marijuana legalization law that voters approved in 2016 continues to enjoy \u201coverwhelming support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had debate,\u201d he said. \u201cThe voters are satisfied at this moment with the experience that the state has had with it\u2026 I support keeping it on the books and overwhelmingly so do the people of Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) also recently urged voters to reject the measure<\/a>, saying that \u201ckeeping marijuana legal in Massachusetts is both economic justice and racial justice policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Maura Healey (D) similarly said recently that she opposes the anti-cannabis initiative<\/a>, saying that \u201cwe\u2019ve got to keep recreational marijuana here in Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an important industry, the cannabis industry,\u201d the governor said. \u201cAnd I hope the voters keep cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a recent poll released shows that most Massachusetts voters oppose the ballot measure to roll back marijuana legalization<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The survey, published by CommonWealth Beacon and conducted by MassINC Polling Group (MPG), shows that 61 percent of likely voters oppose the initiative. Just 27 percent of respondents said they favor the anti-cannabis ballot measure, while 11 percent are undecided and 1 percent responded that they would prefer not to state their opinion.<\/p>\n

A separate poll released last month by The University of New Hampshire, showed that nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of respondents planned to vote against the anti-cannabis measure<\/a>, while just 24 percent planned to support it.<\/p>\n

Another survey released in August found that Massachusetts voters opposed the marijuana legalization repeal measure<\/a>, 55 percent to 33 percent.<\/p>\n

Competing campaigns working to pass and defeat the legalization rollback have launched a series of ads trying to convince voters of their respective positions.<\/p>\n

The prohibitionist campaign\u2019s ads focus on the dangers of marijuana-impaired driving<\/a>, while the campaign seeking to keep cannabis sales legal<\/a> is highlighting the public health and safety harms of sending consumers back to the unregulated market.<\/p>\n

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, which regulates the legal industry, announced last month that the state has surpassed $10 billion in adult-use cannabis purchases since the market launched<\/a> in 2018.<\/p>\n

CCC Chair Chris Harding told Marijuana Moment that he can\u2019t comment directly on the initiative and that the commission does not take positions on pending ballot questions or legislation, but he said that, in general, \u201crepeal of the adult-use industry could eliminate thousands of jobs, hundreds of businesses and billions in tax revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a top labor union\u2014the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Massachusetts State Council\u2014is urging voters to reject the cannabis legalization rollback initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the latest survey results provide some comfort to cannabis reform supporters, advocates are not resting.<\/p>\n

A coalition of Massachusetts marijuana business leaders, healthcare professionals and other advocates<\/a> have launched a campaign to defeat the measure.<\/p>\n

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) recently issued a warning that passage of the legalization rollback measure would have \u201cdisastrous political and economic consequences for legal cannabis markets everywhere.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEven a too-close victory would spook markets and incentivize a rash of similar initiatives in states around the country, each costing millions to try and defeat,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n

After the Secretary of the Commonwealth\u2019s Office determined that organizers for the anti-cannabis proposal had turned in enough valid signatures to put the measure before voters, a marijuana reform advocate filed an objection with the State Ballot Law Commission<\/a>\u00a0claiming that various signatures were not genuine, obtained through fraudulent means or were not \u201csigned substantially as registered.\u201d<\/p>\n

The body rejected the challenge to the legal marijuana rollback measure<\/a>, however, clearing it to go before voters to decide.<\/p>\n

In June, the campaign behind the anti-legalization ballot measure fired a signature gatherer it says was shown appearing to engage in \u201cwholly unacceptable\u201d conduct<\/a>\u00a0in a recent video.<\/p>\n

As Marijuana Moment reported, a\u00a0man petitioning for the Massachusetts initiative as well as a similar anti-cannabis proposal in Maine<\/a>\u00a0was depicted in recent social media posts seeming to argue that voters who support legal marijuana access should sign the petitions in order to advance or protect reform.<\/p>\n

The campaign later said it has \u201czero tolerance for any circulation tactics that would mislead petition signers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe identified canvasser was immediately terminated, in coordination with our vendor, upon being made aware of the alleged conduct,\u201d the group said. \u201cThe conduct apparent in the video would be wholly unacceptable and does not reflect how this campaign operates. We demand honesty, transparency and professionalism from everyone associated with our effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

A video posted to Reddit of the signature gatherer shows the man collecting signatures outside a retail store in Massachusetts next to a sign that says \u201ckeep cannabis legal.\u201d<\/p>\n

When confronted by a marijuana reform supporter who recorded the petitioner\u2019s interactions with voters, he appeared to be trying to convince them that it is important to qualify the anti-cannabis measure for the ballot in order to then defeat it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what we\u2019re fighting against right here. That\u2019s why we vote no,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we can get this to the ballot right here, we vote no.\u201d<\/p>\n

The person who captured the video pointed out that Massachusetts voters already approved marijuana legalization years ago, and that the only way it could be imminently repealed is if the new ballot measure qualified for the November election. If the initiative does not get enough signatures to go before voters, the state\u2019s laws will remain the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my job,\u201d the petitioner insisted, however. \u201cI know what I\u2019m talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a group of rich folks from out of state that want to basically take marijuana to when it was a medical marijuana card,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same man also appeared to also be gathering signatures for a separate\u00a0measure in Maine that would similarly repeal laws allowing regulated adult-use marijuana sales<\/a>\u00a0and home cultivation rights for adults while keeping possession legal and adding new testing requirements for medical cannabis.<\/p>\n

A staffer for the prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), whose affiliated group\u00a0SAM Action is largely funding the anti-cannabis ballot campaigns<\/a>\u00a0in both states, declined to comment about the petitioner\u2019s conduct when reached by Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n

The campaigns have previously been accused of misleading petitioning tactics.<\/p>\n

In Massachusetts, some voters reported that the\u00a0campaign used fake cover letters for other ballot measures on unrelated issues<\/a>\u00a0like affordable housing and same-day voter registration during the first round of petitioning. Legal cannabis supporters\u00a0filed an earlier formal complaint about the prohibitionist effort\u2019s tactics<\/a>, but the\u00a0State Ballot Law Commission rejected the challenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0measure also faced a legal challenge from cannabis industry operatives<\/a>\u00a0who argued it contains \u201cimpermissibly unrelated subjects,\u201d and that the state attorney general\u2019s official summary is \u201cmisleading and deficient.\u201d The state Supreme Judicial Court\u00a0heard oral arguments on the litigation challenging the anti-marijuana initiative<\/a>\u00a0but it ultimately\u00a0ruled against the lawsuit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The governor of Massachusetts last month filed legislation proposing to increase military veterans\u2019 access to medical marijuana<\/a> by allowing them to receive patient cards without having to get a doctor\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n

The post Boston Mayor Opposes Massachusetts Ballot Measure To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Boston Mayor Opposes Massachusetts Ballot Measure To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The mayor of the largest city in Massachusetts says she is voting against an initiative on the November ballot that seeks to roll back the state\u2019s cannabis legalization law. \u201cA decade ago, I was proud to be among the few elected officials who supported the ballot question to legalize cannabisContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87168"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87169,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87168\/revisions\/87169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}