Might authorized hashish be repealed in Massachusetts? What to know.
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Two petitions goal to repeal elements of the state’s marijuana legal guidelines that regulate the leisure sale and use of the substance.
Massachusetts residents might quickly face the prospect of ending authorized leisure marijuana gross sales, per two new poll initiatives.
On Aug. 6, the Legal professional Basic’s workplace introduced that 19 teams had submitted 47 poll initiative petitions proposing new legal guidelines or constitutional adjustments for the 2026 statewide election.
Amongst them, two petitions goal to repeal or modify elements of the state’s legal guidelines on leisure marijuana.
What do the poll initiatives suggest?
Presently, Massachusetts Basic Regulation Chapter 94G, Part 7 permits adults 21 years or older to buy or develop their very own marijuana. Adults 21 and over can carry as much as one ounce of marijuana and possess as much as 10 ounces of their house.
The poll initiatives, filed by Caroline Cunningham and signed by about 14 different folks, suggest modifying the standards for the authorized possession, distribution, and use of marijuana.
If handed, the 2 poll measures – each dubbed “An Act to Restore A Wise Marijuana Coverage” — would repeal Chapters 94G and 64N of the Basic Legal guidelines which regulate the possession, use, distribution, cultivation, and taxation of leisure (not medical) marijuana.
The petition would keep authorized possession of 1 ounce or much less of marijuana for adults aged 21 and older. This contains permitting possession of as much as 5 grams of hashish concentrates, and adults would nonetheless be capable of give away marijuana to different adults – “so long as the switch will not be marketed or promoted to the general public.”
Nevertheless, based on the poll initiative, any grownup over 21 possessing a couple of ounce (however lower than two ounces) of marijuana would face a civil penalty of fines of as much as $100 confiscation of the marijuana.
Below the poll petition, folks below the age of 21 and in possession of between one and two ounces of marijuana could be topic to the identical civil penalties as these over 21, however they’d even be required to finish a drug consciousness program, based on the petitions.
The proposals additionally differ barely of their remedy of medical marijuana.
Poll initiative petition Model A seeks to restrict the efficiency of medical hashish. Particularly, it might cap the THC content material of marijuana flower at 30% and concentrates at 60%. Concentrates with greater than 5mg of THC per dose would even be banned, as would merchandise missing clear metered servings of 5mg. Model B doesn’t suggest efficiency limitations on medical marijuana.
Lastly, the poll initiatives suggest totally repealing Chapter 64N of the Basic Legal guidelines, which units an excise tax of 10.75% of the whole gross sales worth of the retail sale of marijuana. Massachusetts generated $15,064,887 in income from the marijuana excise tax in 2025, based on a Might 2025 report by the state’s Division of Income.
A protracted street forward for poll initiatives
Even when the petitions move, getting these measures onto the 2026 statewide election poll won’t be straightforward.
For the petitions to maneuver ahead, they need to first obtain certification from the state Legal professional Basic’s workplace by Sept. 3., 2025.
Ought to they meet constitutional necessities, supporters would want to collect not less than 74,574 signatures from Massachusetts voters by Nov. 19 (fourteen days earlier than the primary Wednesday in December) to advance the petitions.
If sufficient verified signatures are collected, the proposals would go earlier than the state legislature in January of the following 12 months. If lawmakers don’t approve them earlier than the primary Wednesday in Might 2026, supporters can have till June 17 (fourteen days earlier than the primary Wednesday in July) to collect an extra 12,429 signatures to put the measures on the 2026 poll.
If the proposals make it that far, they would want majority voter approval to turn out to be legislation. As well as, poll initiative petitions require 30% or extra of the voters casting ballots on the election to vote affirmatively for the proposal to ensure that it to move.
Massachusetts’ troubled Hashish Management Fee
The timing of those proposed measures coincides with growing scrutiny of the Massachusetts Hashish Management Fee (CCC), which has been embroiled in controversy. Final week, a state audit of the Fee discovered widespread mismanagement and violations of state laws on the company.
Whereas the proposed measures are garnering consideration, they face important opposition from the general public. An April 2024 survey by the MassINC Polling Group discovered that 65% of Massachusetts residents nonetheless help marijuana legalization.
We wish to know: Ought to Massachusetts repeal marijuana legalization?
Ought to Mass. repeal hashish legalization?
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