Question 8: Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana
Statewide — all of Massachusetts
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Placed on the ballot by initiative petition: the Information for Voters labels it a law proposed by initiative petition on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 6, 2026. The Legislature's Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions issued the legislative reports reproduced in the same booklet.[1]
The question on the ballot
Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 6, 2026? Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana: The proposed law would change the type and amount of marijuana that may legally be possessed in Massachusetts by repealing the laws that legalize, regulate, and tax the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana in Massachusetts. The proposed law would also permit persons 21 years of age and older to possess 1 ounce or less of marijuana including no more than 5 grams in the form of concentrate, and to gift or transfer to another person 21 years of age and older 1 ounce or less of marijuana including no more than 5 grams in the form of concentrate. The proposed law would also impose a civil penalty of $100 and forfeiture of the marijuana for the possession of marijuana between the weight of 1 and 2 ounces. For persons 21 years of age and younger, the proposed law would make the possession of 2 ounces or less of marijuana a civil infraction subject to a $100 fine, forfeiture of the marijuana, completion of a drug awareness program and community service, and notification to their parents or legal guardian of the offense and penalties. The proposed law would allow currently licensed adult recreational marijuana businesses to apply on an expedited basis to become a licensed medical marijuana dispensary and to sell their remaining inventory of adult recreational marijuana to medical marijuana dispensaries. The proposed law would retain the Cannabis Control Commission but modify its authority so it would regulate only the medical marijuana market. The proposed law states that, if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect. The proposed law would take effect on January 1, 2028.[1]
The measure would repeal the laws that legalize, regulate and tax retail sale of adult recreational marijuana, while allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce, imposing civil penalties for larger amounts, letting licensed recreational businesses apply to become medical dispensaries, and limiting the Cannabis Control Commission to the medical market. It would take effect January 1, 2028. Statement of fiscal consequences (Executive Office for Administration and Finance): By repealing the laws that legalize and tax the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana, the proposed law would reduce the amount that state and municipal governments receive from the taxation of those sales. In fiscal year 2025, taxation of the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana raised approximately $280 million in state revenue and $50 million in local revenue. The state budget, which is supported by tax revenue, funds local aid for schools and municipal budgets.[1]
A YES vote means
A YES VOTE would prohibit the legalization, regulation, and taxation of the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana, and change the penalties for possession of marijuana.
A NO vote means
A NO VOTE would make no change to the law relative to marijuana.
The law today
Retail sale of adult-use recreational marijuana is legal, regulated and taxed in Massachusetts under the 2016 voter-approved initiative, which the Legislature's Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions describes in its majority report in the Information for Voters booklet as the 2016 ballot initiative "that legalized, regulated, and imposed taxation on the retail sale of adult-use recreational marijuana in Massachusetts." The Executive Office for Administration and Finance states that taxation of those sales raised approximately $280 million in state revenue and $50 million in local revenue in fiscal year 2025.[1]
Official fiscal estimate
Executive Office for Administration and Finance: repealing the laws that legalize and tax recreational retail sales "would reduce the amount that state and municipal governments receive from the taxation of those sales"; in fiscal year 2025 that taxation raised approximately $280 million in state revenue and $50 million in local revenue, and the state budget funds local aid for schools and municipal budgets.[1]
Arguments made for
- In the 150-word argument in favor signed by Dr. Jeffrey Morgan of the Coalition For a Healthy Massachusetts, as printed in the Information for Voters: "Question 8 would keep personal possession of marijuana legal, keep medical marijuana legal, and stop commercial marijuana stores"[1]
- In the 150-word argument in favor signed by Dr. Jeffrey Morgan of the Coalition For a Healthy Massachusetts, as printed in the Information for Voters: "Modern concentrates and edibles have been linked to mental health conditions like psychosis, severe anxiety, and schizophrenia, particularly in young adults"[1]
Arguments made against
- In the 150-word argument against signed by Ryan Dominguez of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition, as printed in the Information for Voters: "For ten years, Massachusetts has regulated marijuana, ensuring that products are tested for safety, packaged and labelled properly, and sold in licensed businesses to adults 21 and over."[1]
- In the 150-word argument against signed by Ryan Dominguez of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition, as printed in the Information for Voters: "Question 8 would shut down hundreds of small businesses, kill thousands of jobs, and eliminate billions of dollars in state tax revenue."[1]
On record in support
On record in opposition
- Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation (registered ballot question committee opposing Question 8)[2]
- Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Policy (registered ballot question committee opposing Question 8)[2]
- Committee for Keep Cannabis Legal, Vote No on 8 (registered ballot question committee opposing Question 8)[2]
- Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition (author of the con argument in the Information for Voters)[1]
Campaign money
Receipts reported to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) by registered ballot question committees, summed across the calendar-year totals OCPF publishes (year-to-date through each committee's most recent filed report; OCPF's data does not show a single as-of date; retrieved October 19, 2026). In-kind contributions are reported separately and not included. Supporting Question 8: Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, Inc. reported $3,531,625 ($1,550,000 in 2025 and $1,981,625 in 2026). Opposing: Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation $2,189,846.87 ($10,050 in 2025; $2,179,796.87 in 2026), Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Policy $150,100, Committee for Keep Cannabis Legal, Vote No on 8 $11,277.52 and Democratic Socialists Against Reactionary Rollbacks $50, about $2,351,274 in all.[2]
Research notes & limits
Ballot text, official yes/no statements and fiscal statements are taken from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 Information for Voters booklet (PDF text extracted and checked by script). Arguments are quoted from the signed 150-word pro/con statements, which the Commonwealth states reflect the authors' opinions and are not certified as accurate. Both a signed pro and a signed con argument are printed. The booklet's own summary is the Attorney General's; the Secretary's page and Ballotpedia could not be fetched (bot protection), so the ballot list was confirmed from the booklet itself, which covers nine questions. Committee stances and money totals come from OCPF's ballot-question committee data (the committees' registered support/oppose designation); OCPF publishes year-to-date totals without a single as-of date. No officeholder or organization endorsement lists were found for Question 8 on the campaign pages that could be fetched, so supporters and opponents are limited to registered committees and the signed argument authors.
Sources · 2
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.2026 Massachusetts Information for Voters (State Election, November 3, 2026) · Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Official record
- 2.Ballot question committee reports, 2026 (OCPF; data from api.ocpf.us) · Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance · 2026-10-19 Official record