No state citizenry has backtracked on cannabis legalization after a licensed and regulated program was implemented, but prohibitionists are hoping to offer Massachusetts voters the opportunity.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrew Joy Campbell certified two versions of a 2026 ballot initiative petition on Sept. 3 that intends to repeal state laws governing the commonwealth’s commercial adult-use cannabis marketplace, including licensed cultivation and dispensary operations.
In other words, the petition would undo the cannabis legalization measure that Massachusetts voters passed with a 54% majority in the 2016 election by halting an industry that has produced more than $8.3 billion in retail revenue, nearly $900 million in excise tax revenue and roughly $540 million in sales tax revenue since dispensary sales launched in December 2018, according to the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.
Furthermore, Massachusetts’ licensed cannabis market supports 27,000-some jobs, according to industry hiring platform Vangst.
The petition, “Any Act to Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policy,” is driven by Carolina Cunningham, a political consultant, campaign manager and professional fundraiser who aligns with the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
Cunningham and her fellow proponents of the petition can now start gathering the 74,574 signatures of registered voters they’ll need to submit to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by Dec. 3, 2025, to work toward qualifying for the ballot.
Once those signatures are verified, the Massachusetts 2026 Legislature reserves the right to consider the proposal. If lawmakers don’t act on it by May 6, 2026, the proponents would need to gather another 12,429 signatures by July 1, 2026, to qualify for the proposed law for the November 2026 election, according to Campbell’s office.
“I applaud the civic engagement of our residents, who filed a record-breaking 47 ballot initiative petitions this year,” Campbell said on Sept. 3. “My office reviews each petition according to the strict criteria outlined in Article 48 of our state constitution. Our personal opinions and any constitutional considerations outside of Article 48 cannot weigh into our decision-making about certification of a petition.”
While Cunningham aims to eradicate Massachusetts’ taxed and regulated adult-use market, “Version A” of her certified petition would also subject the state’s medical cannabis market to new potency limitations, including a 30% THC cap on flower and a 60% THC limit on concentrates. In addition, it would prohibit concentrated forms of medical cannabis that fail to provide a metered delivery serving of 5 milligrams of THC with no more than 20 metered doses (100 milligrams) per package.
Meanwhile, “Version B” of the petition does not include these potency and dosage requirements. Both versions continue the state’s medical cannabis program and are otherwise identical.
Also under the proposal, possessing up to 1 ounce of cannabis or 5 grams of concentrate would be decriminalized for those 21 and older, as would gifting these amounts between adults. Possessing between 1 ounce and 2 ounces of cannabis would subject individuals to a civil penalty of $100 and product forfeiture, while those younger than 21 would also have to complete a drug awareness program and community service.
The proposal would provide certain protections for those who possess less than 2 ounces of cannabis, such as access to student financial aid, public housing or financial assistance, such as unemployment benefits, the right to operate a motor vehicle, or to serve as a foster or adoptive parent. Cannabis use also would not disqualify a person from a needed medical procedure.
Primarily, the petition would drive adult-use cannabis consumers out of the licensed, tested and taxed marketplace.
In the absence of adult-use commercial operators, 91% of Massachusetts’ regulated cannabis market would cease to exist, according to an exclusive medical report published last month by Cannabis Business Times.
“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,” according to an official summary of the petition. “The proposed law would retain the Cannabis Control Commission but modify its authority so it would regulate only the medical marijuana market.”
If passed by voters, the proposed law would become effective on Jan. 1, 2028.
