Just Say No to Massachusetts’ Question 8

A Message From MPP Executive Director Adam J. Smith

It’s official. Massachusetts’ Question 8 — the first-ever attempt to recriminalize adult-use sales and home grow in a legal state — is on the ballot. Last week, the state’s administrative court rejected opponents’ objections to allegedly fraudulent efforts during signature gathering and is sending the question to voters.

If you haven’t been paying attention to what’s going on in the Bay State, it’s time to start. A loss in Massachusetts would have disastrous political and economic consequences for legal cannabis markets everywhere, and even a too-close victory would spook markets and incentivize a rash of similar initiatives in states around the country, each costing millions to try and defeat. 

In 2016, MPP led the successful effort to pass the state’s legalization initiative by a margin of 53-47%. Matthew Schweich, who has led half a dozen successful initiative campaigns for MPP, including in Massachusetts, is working directly for the No campaign. And MPP Executive Director Adam Smith is volunteering on the No campaign committee, which is being extremely well-led by Ryan Dominguez of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition.

Now, ten years into Massachusetts’ legal cannabis market, we are faced for the first time in history with the question… Will supporters of legal cannabis markets — in Massachusetts and elsewhere — stand up to defend them? They had better, because victory is not a sure thing, and the risk is existential.

The most recent polling shows “No” (the good guys) with a single-digit lead that narrows to within the margin of error once respondents hear arguments in favor of recriminalization.

Question 8 could pass if the “No on 8” Campaign lacks the resources to get its message out, broadly and consistently, from here to the election.

And “No on 8” has plenty to say. Legal cannabis is responsible for more than 20,000 jobs in the state. The legal cannabis that people are using, unlike the illicit market, is tested and properly labeled. Cannabis arrests and their associated costs — personal, economic, and in law enforcement — are down nearly 90%, and youth cannabis use is down 25% since the state legalized adult-use cannabis.

The case needs to be made that ending the regulated market would lead to an explosion in the illicit market, reversing those gains and exponentially increasing the number of easy access points for kids.

Project SAM, the organization behind the recriminalization initiative, had spent nearly $2 million on signature gathering alone as of early 2026. In addition, the group has spent more than $2.5 million gathering signatures for an identical initiative in Maine, which is likely headed for the ballot in 2027.

As of their most recent 990, SAM had nearly $24 million in the bank, and there’s no way to know how much more they’ve lined up for this effort, and what they’re planning to spend in Mass.

The No on 8 campaign is going to need our help.   

Industry members in the struggling Massachusetts market have stepped up, but more resources, which are tough to come by in cannabis these days, will be needed. 

Whether you’re an industry member, an allied business, an advocate for the plant or for rational public policy or personal freedom — and wherever you are in the country — the Massachusetts ballot initiative is your fight. It’s our fight.

Please stand with us and with the people of Massachusetts to defend not just their state’s legal market, but the future of legal cannabis everywhere. 

Donate directly to the Massachusetts No on 8 Campaign today to help us fight back and protect legalization progress.