Massachusetts Eliminate Recreational Marijuana Sales and Allow Limited Possession Initiative (2026)
| Massachusetts Eliminate Recreational Marijuana Sales and Allow Limited Possession Initiative | |
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| Topic Drug crime policy and Marijuana laws |
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| Status Certified to the legislature |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
The Massachusetts Eliminate Recreational Marijuana Sales and Allow Limited Possession Initiative may be on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
The ballot initiative would make a number of changes to marijuana regulation laws in Massachusetts. First, it would repeal laws that permit the sale of recreational marijuana and the personal cultivation of cannabis in homes. Second, it would permit possession of up to one ounce of marijuana without penalties, and would create only civil penalties for possession of between one to two ounces of marijuana.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
Sponsors of the initiative submitted two versions of the measure:
Support
Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts is leading the campaign in support of the initiative.[2]
Supporters
Organizations
Individuals
- Kathleen Lynch (R) - Massachusetts Republican State Committee member
Arguments
Opposition
Opponents
Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Arguments
Background
Question 4 (2016)
In 2016, Massachusetts voters approved Question 4 which legalized the use of recreational marijuana and regulated it in ways similar to alcoholic beverages; 53.7% of voters approved the measure.
On July 28, 2017, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signed House Bill 3818 (H. 3818), which rewrote parts of Question 4.[3] H. 3818 increased the excise tax on marijuana sales from 3.75% to 10.75%, and increased the percentage that municipalities are allowed to tax marijuana sales from 2% to 3%. It also increased the number of members on the Cannabis Control Commission from three to five.
The bill also included two different local control options—one for the 260 municipalities where a majority of voters approved Question 4 and one for the 91 municipalities where a majority of voters rejected Question 4. For the municipalities that approved the measure, a referendum vote would be required to ban marijuana stores. For the municipalities that rejected the measure, the town board or city council would be permitted to ban marijuana stores.[4]
Matthew Schweich, director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project, responded to H. 3818, saying, "The law passed by voters was well-crafted and required no alteration. However, we respect the need for compromise, and while we don’t approve of every provision of this bill, we are satisfied that the outcome will serve the interests of Massachusetts residents and allow the Commonwealth to displace the unregulated marijuana market with a system of taxation and regulation."[5]
If the 2026 measure passes, it would be the first initiative to repeal a voter-approved measure legalizing marijuana.
Marijuana laws by state
As of June 2025, 24 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized the possession and personal use of marijuana for recreational purposes.[6][7][8][9]
- In 13 states and D.C., the ballot initiative process was used to legalize marijuana.
- In two states, the legislature referred a measure to the ballot for voter approval.
- In nine states, bills to legalize marijuana were enacted into law.
Path to the ballot
Process in Massachusetts
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute is equal to 3% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Massachusetts also has a distribution requirement that requires no more than 25% of the certified signatures on any petition can come from a single county.
The state Legislature has until the first Wednesday of May in the election year to pass the statute. If the legislature does not pass the proposed statute, proponents must collect a second round of signatures equal to 0.5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. The Legislature also has the power to place an alternative measure alongside the proposed statute via a simple majority vote of the state legislature.
A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 30% of the votes cast in the election.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures (first round): 74,574
- Signatures (second round): 12,429
- Deadline (first round): The deadline to submit the first round of signatures to the secretary of state was December 3, 2025.
- Deadline (second round): The deadline to submit the second round of signatures is July 8, 2026.
Stages of the ballot initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:[10]
- August 7, 2025: The Massachusetts Attorney General announced that the initiative had been filed.
- September 3, 2025: The Massachusetts Attorney General announced that the initiative had been cleared and that supporters could begin gathering signatures for the initiative. Both versions of the initiative were cleared to gather signatures individually.
- November 19, 2025: Wendy Wakeman, spokesperson for the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, announced they collected and submitted more than the required numbers of signatures in support of the initiative.[11]
- December 3, 2025: The campaign submitted 79,420 signatures in support of the measure.[12][13]
- December 18, 2025: The state Elections Division announced that it had certified 78,301 valid signatures in support of the initiative. As such, it was certified to go before the state legislature in the 2026 legislative session.[14][15]
External links
See also
View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in Massachusetts.
Explore Massachusetts's ballot measure history, including citizen-initiated ballot measures.
Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballot Initiatives Submitted for the 2026 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed laws) and 2026 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed constitutional amendments), "An Act to Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policy," accessed August 12, 2025
- ↑ Cannabis Business Times, "Campaign to End Massachusetts Cannabis Market ‘Confident’ It Submitted Enough Signatures," accessed December 18, 2025
- ↑ General Court of Massachusetts, "An Act to ensure safe access to marijuana," accessed January 6, 2026
- ↑ U.S. News, "Massachusetts Legislature Backs Deal on Recreational Pot Law," July 19, 2017
- ↑ Boston.com, "3 things to know about the expected changes to marijuana legalization in Massachusetts," July 18, 2017
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Medical Cannabis Laws," accessed January 6, 2026
- ↑ Smart Approaches to Marijuana, "MJ Laws Map," accessed June 15, 2022
- ↑ Marijuana Policy Project, "Map of state marijuana laws," accessed June 15, 2022
- ↑ This number does not include South Dakota, where voters approved a marijuana legalization initiative in 2020 that was later struck down by the state's supreme court
- ↑ Mass.gov, "Ballot Initiatives Submitted for the 2026 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed laws) and 2028 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed constitutional amendments)," accessed August 7, 2025
- ↑ Cannabis Business Times, "Campaign to End Massachusetts Cannabis Market ‘Confident’ It Submitted Enough Signatures," accessed November 19, 2025
- ↑ The Free Press, "Could Massachusetts Become the First State to Undo Legal Weed?" accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ Cannabis Business Times, "Massachusetts Campaign to Kill Adult-Use Cannabis Market Advances Toward 2026 Ballot," accessed January 6, 2025
- ↑ Worcester Business Journal, "Ballot initiative to recriminalize recreational cannabis sales receives certification," accessed December 19, 2025
- ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "State Elections Division Certifies First Batch of Ballot Questions," accessed January 6, 2025
