Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is the latest high-profile elected official to join the efforts to stop the prohibitionist-driven effort to repeal Massachusetts’ voter-approved cannabis legalization law. The No on 8: Stop the Repeal campaign – which launched in June to defeat Ballot Question 8 that would repeal the state’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis laws – announced her endorsement Oct. 14.
“A 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,” Wu said in a statement issued by the No on 8: Stop the Repeal campaign. “Since then, legalization has created new businesses and jobs and generated state and local revenue to support substance use recovery and public health programs. I am voting No on 8 to protect that progress, not turn back the clock.”
“Massachusetts 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,” Stop the Repeal Chairperson Ryan Dominguez said in the statement. “We 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.”
“Boston has 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’s cannabis industry,” according to the No on 8 statement. “The Boston Cannabis Equity Program prioritizes equity by designating qualified licensees as Certified Boston Equity Applicants, providing access to financial and technical assistance, leveling the playing field in the licensing process, and focusing on people of Black and African American, Hispanic and Latino, Indigenous, and Asian descent.”
Of more than 40 adult-use retailers in Boston, 18 are Social Equity Participants, eight are Economic Empowerment participants, and four hold Diverse Business Enterprise statuses, per the statement. The Massachusetts Division of Local Services has reported more than $9.7 million in local cannabis tax revenue for Boston from Fiscal Year 2022 through FY25, according to No on 8, and the city estimates another $3.6 million for FY26.
The state’s Cannabis Control Commission announced Sept. 9 that Massachusetts’ legal cannabis businesses have generated $10 billion in all-time gross sales.
The No on 8: Stop the Repeal campaign also has garnered the support of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley; the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP); SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Massachusetts State Council; performer and founder of Belushi’s Farm, Jim Belushi; among a “growing coalition of regional leaders, public health officials, law enforcement, small business owners and advocates fighting to protect the Commonwealth’s legal cannabis law,” according to No on 8.
Gov. Maura Healey also publicly opposed the ballot question, telling Boston-based WCVB TV’s “On the Record” Oct. 4 that she plans to vote against the prohibitionist proposal and urged her fellow Bay Staters to do the same, as Cannabis Business Times reported.
“I’d vote no,” Healey said. “We’ve got to keep recreational marijuana here in Massachusetts. It’s an important industry, the cannabis industry, and I hope the voters keep cannabis.”
The effort to repeal the state’s legal cannabis laws (now Ballot Question 8) was started and backed by the most prominent cannabis prohibition group in the U.S., Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which has dumped millions of dollars into the effort.
RELATED: SAM Contributes $3.2 Million in Dark Money to Massachusetts Cannabis Prohibition Campaign
As of early September, the grassroots No on 8 campaign reported that it had raised more than $1.5 million to work to preserve the state’s cannabis laws.
“This latest fundraising filing shows the strong momentum building behind the effort to protect Massachusetts’ legal, regulated cannabis industry,” No on 8: Stop the Repeal Campaign Chair Ryan Dominguez said in a Sept. 4 statement. “To date, we’ve raised more than $1.5 million, demonstrating that people across the Commonwealth understand what is at stake: 27,000 jobs, more than 400 small businesses, and billions of dollars in tax revenue.
“What makes our movement even more powerful is the breadth of the coalition standing together to say that repeal is not the right answer. From public health officials, to workers and labor organizations, to small business owners, entrepreneurs, advocates, patients, consumers, and community leaders across Massachusetts. Voters are coming together because they believe that we must continue to move forward, not backward.”
