NO on 8 (Cannabis Recriminalization)
Question 8 would recrimnalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts. In particular, it would
- Repeal the laws legalizing, regulating, and taxing adult-use retail cannabis
- Eliminate the existing adult-use licensing, testing, social equity, research, and tax framework
- Recriminalize cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and sales, including home cultivation.
- Question 8 would repeat the racist harms of prohibition. Before legalization, Black residents were about 8 percent of the Commonwealth’s population but accounted for 24 percent of marijuana possession arrests and 41 percent of marijuana sales arrests, despite similar rates of use. Even after Massachusetts decriminalized possession, Black residents were arrested for possession at 3.3 times—and for sales at 7.1 times—the rate of white residents.
- Question 8 would eliminate gains in social equity and community repair. Massachusetts built equity and small business tools into the regulated market because communities harmed by prohibition should have a fair chance to participate in the new economy. More than 1,100 people have participated in the Social Equity Program. The first three Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund rounds awarded approximately $57.7 million through 425 grants. From fiscal years 2021 through 2025, Massachusetts invested $65 million in Community Empowerment and Reinvestment grants, while approximately $27.9 million in marijuana revenue supported reentry and recidivism reduction.
- Question 8 would recreate black markets and increase health risks. Licensed businesses operate with age verification, background checks, product testing, potency and ingredient labeling, child-resistant packaging, seed-to-sale tracking, security, inspections, and auditable records. Regulators can investigate, place products on hold, order their removal from sale, impose fines, and suspend or revoke licenses. Unlicensed sellers provide none of those protections.
- Question 8 would harm local economies and state revenue. Massachusetts’s regulated market includes nearly 700 active licenses and about 20,000 jobs. Adult use establishments have generated more than $9 billion in gross sales. Regulated adult use cannabis also generated nearly $2 billion in state and local revenue through fiscal year 2025, including $196 million from the optional local cannabis excise. Massachusetts has used adult use revenue to support prevention and treatment, community reinvestment, reentry, public education, regulatory oversight, and local budgets.
The funder of Question 8’s ballot committee is the dark money group “Smart Approaches to Marijuana” (SAM), founded by George W. Bush speechwriters. SAM has refused to disclose donors, raising questions about possible funding from the liquor industry and the pharmaceutical industry.
The NO on 8 coalition, by contrast, includes groups focusing on undoing the harms of the drug war like Equitable Opportunities Now, the Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council, and the Massachusetts Reentry Coalition; labor unions like the SEIU State Council; and business groups like the Charles River Chamber of Commerce, Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce, Retailers Association of Massachusetts, and Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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The fact that we have 9 statewide ballot questions to some extent speaks to the failure of our Legislature to act on a timely basis on important issues. But, in some cases, legislative inertia is not the backstory; instead, it is that dark money groups using shady tactics have bankrolled misleading and dangerous campaigns.
Strike 1: The backers of Question 8, which would recriminalize recreational marijuana, often refused to tell voters what they were even signing for or told them it was about other topics like affordable housing.
Strike 2: SAM, the dark money group behind Question 8 that was founded by George W. Bush’s speechwriters, has refused to disclose its donors, so we don’t even know who is bankrolling Question 8.
Strike 3: If Question 8 were to pass, Massachusetts would be sent back into the past of the failed, racist drug war, which proved costly in terms of high incarceration rates and broken families and communities. Massachusetts has led the nation in a social equity approach to the cannabis industry, and all of that progress would be erased if Question 8 passes. On top of that, at a time when we already face a steep budget hole next year, Question 8 would wipe out a reliable source of state revenue.
Three strikes, and you’re out. Vote NO on Question 8 this November.
Read More
- Learn more about the NO on 8 campaign at stoptherepealma.com.
- Byrdsell, Auzzey. “They were arrested for weed, then became cannabis entrepreneurs. What happens if the repeal ballot question passes?” Boston Globe. August 4, 2026.
- Marijuana Policy Project. “The State of Enforcement: Progress and Shortcomings in Cannabis Arrest Rates.” 2026.
- Shook, Ashley. “Study Reveals Move from Illegal to Legal Cannabis in Massachusetts.” WWLP. March 13, 2026.
- Troe, Jessica. “Show Me the Money: Cannabis Revenue, Spending, and Equity in Massachusetts.” Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. September 15, 2025.