Massachusetts 2026: A Year of Progress and Peril!

This year could prove to be the most decisive in cannabis policy for Massachusetts since cannabis was legalized in 2016. Prohibitionists are trying to qualify a ballot initiative to repeal adult-use cannabis sales in Massachusetts. We are mobilizing to oppose this effort, so stay tuned for more on our efforts to defeat this regressive policy! 

Despite this attempted rollback, there are many more opportunities for progress in the Legislature, including:

• H. 2179, which would ban employment discrimination based on legal cannabis use. The bill is headed to a vote on the House floor.
• H. 4206, which would make several changes to Massachusetts’ legalization law, including increasing possession allowance from one ounce to two and promoting social equity. The bill has passed both chambers and is in a conference committee. 
• Several expungement bills have been proposed, including one to create a state-initiated process.
• S. 79 & H. 176, which would expand eligibility for medical cannabis. The bills have advanced out of the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy and to a second committee.

If you live in Massachusetts, ask your lawmakers to vote “yes” on H. 2179.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts will finally have social consumption soon. Regulators finalized rules in December that will allow adults 21 and older to purchase and consume cannabis at licensed cannabis establishments, permitted events, and non-cannabis businesses that partner with licensees. The licensees will need to meet safety and regulatory baselines. Voters have waited nearly 10 years for the social consumption part of the ballot initiative to be implemented. This brings Massachusetts closer to treating cannabis like alcohol. 

Cannabis is here to stay. While fighting against regressive measures to push it back underground is not only necessary, but right, we must not lose sight of the larger goal — ensuring that cannabis and cannabis policy are as safe and fair as possible. We must work together to create lasting, positive change. Now is not the time to bury our heads in the sand, it is the time for action.