A coalition seeking to end adult-use recreational marijuana in Massachusetts through a voter referendum is aiming to clear a hurdle this week as it eyes a spot on the November 2026 ballot. The proposed question would roll back recreational cannabis and enable retailers to apply to become licensed as medical marijuana dispensaries. Supporters of the initiative are concerned that legalized cannabis has led to a rise in impaired driving and that there are unregulated levels of THC in marijuana products. The adult-use cannabis industry has generated over $8 billion in gross sales as Massachusetts voters legalized recreational cannabis through a 2016 ballot measure.
The coalition looking to dismantle the recreational cannabis industry in Massachusetts through a voter referendum feels “cautiously optimistic” about clearing a hurdle this week as it eyes a spot on the November 2026 ballot.
Petitioners behind “An Act to Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policy,” which would end adult-use recreational marijuana but preserve medical usage, are aiming to file well above the 74,574 signatures that are due to local election officials Wednesday as part of the initiative petition process, spokesperson Wendy Wakeman said.
“That’s the goal, but again, these races go right up to the wire – it goes right to the wire with the signatures,” Wakeman told the News Service Monday. “I would say we’re cautiously optimistic about submitting enough signatures that the question will be on the ballot.”
She said that “most” signatures have been collected by professional signature gatherers, who are often hired by the campaigns that wont to enact new state laws without going through the Legislature.
attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office in September certified as ballot eligible the proposed question that would roll back recreational cannabis and enable retailers to apply “on an expedited basis” to become licensed as medical marijuana dispensaries. It would keep the Cannabis Control Commission in place while “adjusting its authority so it would regulate only the medical marijuana market.”
“A group of parents and medical professionals, mental health professionals, educators, church leaders got together, and there are ways in which the rollout of recreational marijuana just hasn’t worked for people,” Wakeman said. “That has to do with – it’s unregulated levels of THC in marijuana products. Some of the gummies seemed to be geared toward children.”
The CCC has regulations that deal with potency limits for marijuana.
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