Maine and Massachusetts Initiatives Threaten to Re-Criminalize Adult-Use Cannabis Sales

Joanne Caceres and Hannah King, two partners at Dentons, a multinational law firm with a significant cannabis practice, published an op-ed sounding the alarm about prospective ballot initiatives in Maine and Massachusetts that would, among other things, re-criminalize adult-use sales. While the Maine initiative is awaiting final approval to begin signature collection, prohibitionists in Massachusetts have been gathering signatures for some time and are “on track” to qualify for the ballot, according to proponents.

Calling the two initiative efforts “test cases for a national repeal movement,” Caceres and King note that “even a single repeal victory would be politically catastrophic.” 

“And yet,” they write, “the response from the industry so far has been a collective shrug.”

Caceres and King point out that a lack of capital is the industry’s biggest challenge, that capital markets are built on confidence, and that any indication that legalization is at risk of reversal anywhere would reverberate everywhere.

“The risk premium on cannabis assets would skyrocket. Many lenders, insurers, and ancillary service providers would likely pull back. M&A activity - already tepid - could stall.”

They’re right. And while their op-ed focused on what repeal in just a single state could mean for the industry, I would add that although neither initiative would re-criminalize personal possession, it would be disastrous for cannabis users as well. 

Cannabis policy should be grounded in public health, public safety, and public access, and a well-regulated and sustainable legal industry is essential for all three. Eliminating adult-use sales would drive millions of people back to entirely unregulated supply chains riddled with banned pesticides, heavy metals, mold, fungus, and synthetics. It would be a boon to organized crime, would reverse the progress we’ve made in reducing youth access, would kill jobs and businesses, and would cost the state much-needed revenues.

MPP led the initiative campaign in Massachusetts in 2016 when voters approved adult use 54-46, and has led more successful cannabis ballot initiative campaigns than anyone. We are currently in conversations with industry leaders on the ground to explore the possibilities for robust “No” campaigns in either or both states. Not surprisingly, resources will be the determining factor. 

But as Caceres and King write, this needs to be a priority for the entire industry. Despite state silos (and unlike Vegas), what happens in Maine and Massachusetts will not stay there. Even if a repeal initiative doesn’t win, a relatively close race where they are able to largely control the message would significantly embolden the prohibitionists to expand their efforts.  

“The groups behind these New England petitions aren’t random moral crusaders,” write Caceres and King, “they’re politically connected, message-disciplined, and testing the waters for something bigger.”

But it is not just the waters that they are testing. It is us. Advocates and industry. Thirty years since California passed prop 215, and more than a decade into the adult-use era, the political and economic contradictions under which “legalization” has been forced to exist have made us vulnerable. But rather than an excuse to do nothing, Caceres and King argue that our vulnerability should be a clarion call for cooperative and decisive action.

“The lesson is simple,” they warn. “Ignore these repeal efforts at your own peril.”

Adam J. Smith
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project