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Question 8

Question 8: Regulating Marijuana — Eliminate Recreational Sales Initiative

On the ballot

Massachusetts · November 2026 general election · Citizen initiative · Election day November 3, 2026
Topics: Criminal justice, Marijuana and drug policy, Taxes and revenue

In plain language

Question 8 would repeal the Massachusetts laws that license and tax recreational marijuana sales, ending the regulated adult-use market, the state marijuana tax and the local option tax, and would also repeal the law permitting home cultivation. The medical marijuana program would continue, and the Cannabis Control Commission would regulate medical use only. Adults 21 and older could still possess up to one ounce without penalty; possession of one to two ounces would carry a $100 civil fine. People under 21 found with less than two ounces would pay a fine and attend a drug awareness program. Voters legalized recreational sales in 2016.

Fiscal impact

No official fiscal note has been issued for this measure yet.

When the state publishes a fiscal analysis, it will appear here and be listed in the sources below.

What supporters and opponents say

These are summaries of arguments made by the named organizations, drawn from the sources listed below. They are their claims, not this site's, and this site takes no position on the measure.

What supporters say

  • The Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, which is running the campaign for Question 8, says the Cannabis Control Commission has been marked by mismanagement and regulatory noncompliance, and that a state audit found contaminated products reaching consumers.
  • The Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts cites a 2025 study reporting increases in cannabis use and cannabis-related disorders among adolescents after commercial sales began, particularly among teenagers with psychiatric vulnerabilities.
  • Wendy Wakeman, a spokesperson for the coalition, says the illicit market has not disappeared as legalization supporters predicted.
  • Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a national group opposed to commercial legalization, supports the measure.

Attributed to Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

What opponents say

  • Stop the Repeal, the campaign opposing Question 8, says a no vote protects state and local revenue that funds schools, housing, transportation and health care, along with roughly 20,000 jobs and existing consumer safety rules.
  • Caroline Pineau, a dispensary owner, says the initiative would eliminate more than 14,000 Massachusetts jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local tax revenue, and would replace a regulated industry with an unregulated street market.
  • The Marijuana Policy Project says legal cannabis is tested and labeled, that cannabis arrests are down nearly 90 percent, and that youth cannabis use has fallen 25 percent since legalization.
  • Fitchburg Mayor Samantha Squailia says repeal would be costly for communities that rely on cannabis revenue; Progressive Massachusetts and the Retailers Association of Massachusetts also oppose the measure.

Attributed to Stop the Repeal, Marijuana Policy Project, Progressive Massachusetts.

Official ballot language

The certified ballot text is not yet available for this measure. Once the state certifies it, the verbatim wording will appear here.

Sources

Everything on this page traces to these sources. Follow them to read the original documents.

Last updated . How this page is sourced and corrected is described in the correction policy.