Massachusetts voters oppose a prohibitionist effort to end the state’s adult-use cannabis program, but the projected margin to defeat a November 2026 ballot question may be too close for comfort for some industry stakeholders.
Roughly 55% of registered voters plan to reject the question – including 40% who would definitely vote no and 15% who would probably vote no – according to a statewide survey conducted Aug. 5-12 by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and WCVB Boston.
Meanwhile, 33% of registered voters plan to support the ballot question, with 15% saying they would definitely vote yes and 18% saying they would probably vote yes. Roughly 10% remained undecided, and 3% did not understand the survey question.
These projections are less favorable for cannabis industry stakeholders than a Bay State Poll conducted in February by the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center under the university’s States of Opinion Project, which found that 63% oppose (48% strongly/15% somewhat) the measure and just 20% of likely voters support it.
The more recent UMass poll included 800 registered voters, 445 of whom self-identified as Democratic primary voters.
Massachusetts voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2016 with a 54% majority.
“Looking back on the 10-year anniversary of this decision, we find that a majority of voters (54%) view legalization in a positive light, with only 2 in 10 (22%) saying that legalization has been negative for the state,” said Tatishe Nteta, provost professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll. “Given these favorable views, it is unsurprising that a majority of registered voters (55%) oppose the ballot question seeking to repeal marijuana legalization in the state.”
The 2026 ballot question, “An Act to Restore Sensible Marijuana Policy,” would repeal the Bay State’s laws that regulate and tax adult-use dispensary sales while allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis, 10 grams of concentrate or 1,000 milligrams of THC in edibles, and cultivate up to six plants at home for personal use.
It will appear on November’s ballot as Question 8.
Sponsoring the question, the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts was single-handedly funded by the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Action Inc. in 2025, which contributed $1.55 million to support the primary phase of its signature drive. Finance disclosure reports for 2026 are not available.
“With the campaign for the ballot question still in its nascent stages and 1 in 10 voters remaining undecided, there remains time for the tables to turn and support for repeal to grow,” Nteta said. “But, with Trump voters (48%) and Republicans (45%) the only groups approaching majority support for the ballot question, convincing Massachusetts voters to reverse course on marijuana legalization appears to be a formidable challenge.”
More than 61% of the state’s voters backed Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in the 2024 election, and Democrats (24%) are less likely to support the cannabis repeal question than Republicans (45%), according to the UMass poll.
The Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts campaign secured its ballot position despite statewide opposition along the way, including the Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) accusing prohibitionist signature gatherers of “using deceptive tactics to trick people into signing” the petition.
Also, the Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission twice issued decisions in favor of the campaign, first rejecting a challenge in January that prohibitionists had tricked voters, and then rejecting a challenge in July that various signatures validated by local election officials should be tossed.
In addition, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled in June that Massachusetts Attorney General Joy Campbell did not err when she approved the initiative petition in September 2025. The ruling came after four voters challenged the certification process, arguing that the petition contained unrelated subjects and that Campbell’s summary was not “fair” under election laws.
Among nine ballot questions included in the UMass survey, the cannabis measure was the only one in which a majority of registered voters said they would definitely or probably vote no.
According to the poll, registered Massachusetts voters are more likely to support the repeal question if their ideology is conservative (46%) or if they identify as a Republican (45%), as well as those with a high school education or less (44%) or with an income of $40,000 or less (41%).
Gender (33% male/31% female) and age (32% across three age groups) did not significantly impact support.
While the ballot question would end Massachusetts’ $1.6 billion adult-use retail market and force many dispensary, cultivation and manufacturing operations out of business – resulting in mass layoffs for 27,000-some industry workers – the state’s medical program would still exist.
Since adult-use dispensary sales commenced in December 2018, the marketplace has provided more than $1.5 billion in excise and sales tax revenue, according to sales data from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.
