[PRESS RELEASE] – BOSTON, Oct. 16, 2026 – The No on 8: Stop the Repeal Campaign announced the endorsement of more than 60 state legislators, including Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano, who join regional leaders, public health officials, law enforcement, small business owners and advocates fighting to protect the commonwealth’s legal cannabis law.
Repealing highly-regulated adult-use cannabis would have serious economic and public safety impacts across our state. Today’s endorsement underscores the importance of preserving the jobs, economic opportunities and public policy gains created since Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved legal marijuana in 2016.
In the decade since voters made a clear choice to replace restrictive policies with a safe, regulated cannabis market, Massachusetts has built a system that prioritizes public health, consumer safety, responsible regulation and equitable opportunities.
“Repealing recreational cannabis laws will not only take us backwards to restrictive policies that promote dangerous, unregulated illicit markets; it would negatively impact our communities that are already struggling with the impacts from serious budget shortfalls, which many of our legislative leaders have seen firsthand,” Stop the Repeal Campaign Chair Ryan Dominguez said. “Losing $2 billion in state and local revenue along with the funding from the Marijuana Regulation Fund will cause further pains on already strained budgets, and impact public health programs and investments in law enforcement and public safety.”
Legalization of adult-use cannabis built an economic engine that, in the last decade, has created more than 400 new storefronts, over 27,000 jobs and generated $2 billion-plus in tax revenue benefiting our municipalities and the Marijuana Regulation Fund, supporting public health programs, law enforcement and schools, as well as regulatory oversight.
Question 8, if passed, would bring us back to a system under which the arrest rate for cannabis sales for Black people was more than seven times higher than the arrest rate for white people. Even after legalization, Hispanic and Latino individuals were three times as likely as non-Hispanic and Latino respondents to report a prior cannabis-related arrest. Since 2019, the Social Equity Program has certified more than 1,100 participants. Licensees must maintain public Positive Impact Plans and Diversity Plans to advance equity in their operations and harmed communities.
The 63 state senators and representatives who announced their endorsement include:
- House Speaker Ronald Mariano
- Senate President Karen Spilka
- State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa
- State Rep. Patricia Duffy
- State Rep. Dawne Shand
- State Rep. James Arena-DeRosa
- State Rep. Michelle Badger
- State Rep. Mike Connolly
- State Rep. Lisa Field
- State Rep. Dennis Gallagher
- State Rep. Carmine Gentile
- State Rep. Natalie Higgins
- State Rep. Russell Holmes
- State Rep. Tara Hong
- State Rep. Kristin Kassner
- State Rep. Kathleen LaNatra
- State Rep. David LeBoeuf
- State Rep. Jack Lewis
- State Rep. David Linsky
- State Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian
- State Rep. Jay Livingstone
- State Rep. Christopher Markey
- State Rep. Joseph McKenna
- State Rep. John Moran
- State Rep. Brian Murray
- State Rep. Tram Nguyen
- State Rep. James O'Day
- State Rep. Steven Ouellette
- State Rep. Steven Owens
- State Rep. Alice Peisch
- State Rep. Angelo Puppolo Jr.
- State Rep. David Robertson
- State Rep. Jeffrey Roy
- State Rep. Alan Silvia
- State Rep. Andrew Tarr
- State Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven
- State Rep. Marcus Vaughn
- State Rep. William “Bill” MacGregor
- State Rep. James Arciero
- State Rep. Samantha Montaño
- State Rep. Bud Williams
- State Rep. John Mahoney
- State Rep. Andy Vargas
- State Rep. Christine Barber
- State Rep. Hannah Bowen
- State Sen. William Brownsberger
- State Sen. Paul Feeney
- State Sen. Adam Gomez
- State Sen. Liz Miranda
- State Sen. Julian Cyr
- State Sen. Jason Lewis
- State Sen. Jacob Oliveira
- State Sen. Rebecca Rausch
- State Sen. Patricia Jehlen
- State Sen. Michael Moore
- State Sen. Jo Comerford
- State Sen. Dylan Fernandes
- State Sen. Barry Finegold
- State Sen. Jamie Eldridge
- State Sen. Robyn Kennedy
- State Sen. Vanna Howard
- State Sen. Mike Rush
- State Sen. Pavel Payano
Supporting Quotes:
“I’m voting no on Question 8 because recriminalizing cannabis would bring back an unsafe and untaxed black market as well as enforcement that has historically been targeted disproportionately at Black and Brown communities. Despite similar usage, before legalization, Black and Brown people were arrested for possession and intent to sell at 3.3 and 7.1 times the rate of white people, respectively. Additionally, Massachusetts shouldn’t pull the rug out from under the 100 social equity businesses that legalization made possible. The legalization of cannabis carried the promise to begin to remediate the harm that was caused by prohibition, over-policing and incarceration for cannabis related offenses – undoing legalization now and shutting down these businesses would only double that harm.” – Sen. Liz Miranda
"I support Massachusetts' 400-plus legal and regulated cannabis retailers, the people they employ, and $250 million in [annual] tax revenue they generate. This is no time to be shutting down businesses and erecting barriers to entrepreneurial investment. That's why I'll be voting no on Question 8." – Sen. Barry Finegold
"Our legal cannabis industry protects the public from adulterated, unsafe street cannabis products. And it reduces the illegal marketing of cannabis and all the attendant violence and criminal justice harms that go along with illicit markets. Going back to prohibition would be a huge mistake." – Sen. Will Brownsberger
“Voters passed legalization of marijuana. The Legislature continues to improve implementation. Repeal would take us back to dominance by the unregulated black market.” – Sen. Pat Jehlen
“Recreational cannabis was approved by Massachusetts voters a decade ago for good reason. Since then, hundreds of thousands of adults in Massachusetts have purchased or grown cannabis legally and consumed it responsibly. We should be focused on true public health risks that threaten our health and well-being – synthetic products and digital distractions among them – not on a natural plant that humans have enjoyed for thousands of years. Recreational cannabis made sense when voters approved it 10 years ago, and it still does today. I’m a no on Question 8.” – Sen. Julian Cyr
“Since voters made it clear 10 years ago that they wanted a legal adult-use cannabis market, hundreds of business owners have poured life savings into building legitimate businesses and supporting thousands of jobs. We have a responsibility to build on what works, address what needs improvement and continue to protect the public through smart regulation. Reversing course does the opposite and will force people back into an illicit market, compromising public health and safety.” – Sen. Dylan Fernandes
“The voters in 2016 made a clear choice to replace restrictive policies with a safe, regulated cannabis market, and that plan has worked. Adult-use retail sales of cannabis reached over $8 billion in Massachusetts, and the state has collected $1.58 billion and local governments collected $300 million in revenue. This funding has supported public health programs, investments in communities, law enforcement and public safety, as well as regulatory oversight. Please join me [in] voting no to keep this system in place.” – Chairman Jay Livingstone
“Repealing Massachusetts’ legal adult-use cannabis law would be a step backward for our economy and for communities across the commonwealth. Legal cannabis supports local businesses and jobs and provides critical revenue for cities and towns. Rather than dismantling the responsible and regulated system that we've built, we should focus on strengthening protections, improving oversight and continuing to promote economic opportunity, particularly for communities that were disproportionately affected by marijuana criminalization." – Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa
"We are just getting this relatively new $2-billion-dollars-a-year industry settled, and while we should always consider appropriate tweaks in the law, I don't want to see the enterprise repealed." – Rep. James Arena-DeRosa
"Repeal of the legalization of marijuana is not the right move for Massachusetts. Over a billion in revenue has been brought to the state to bolster our communities and work, and we have made progress in addressing harms by the racialized war on drugs. I look forward to voting no on 8 and encourage you to vote no as well. Out-of-state money and campaigns should not dictate what we do in Massachusetts." – Rep. Samantha Montano
“Prohibition was a failure which the 21st Amendment fixed. Criminalizing marijuana again would also fail, and how many lives would be lost by illicit street sales adulterated with fentanyl or other deadly contaminants? Prohibition was destructive, and so would repeal of regulated, safe and lawful marijuana sales. Vote no on 8." – Rep. Carmine Gentile
"I want voters to understand how much power this ballot initiative puts into their hands. Repealing the cannabis law pulls the rug out from beneath small, self-funded businesses. Many of these are owned by veterans, women, Black and Brown people, who tapped into family networks or personal savings to start a business that promised to build intergenerational wealth. These entrepreneurs entered a state-legal business with stringent regulations. To eliminate their entire business category is cruel.” – Rep. Dawne Shand
The campaign’s growing coalition includes labor organizations, cannabis industry leaders, small business owners, community advocates and voters who believe Massachusetts should preserve the legal, regulated cannabis industry rather than repeal it.
You can learn more about efforts to keep regulated recreational marijuana legal in Massachusetts here.
