A campaign seeking to scale back key elements of Massachusetts’s marijuana legalization law has cleared an important procedural milestone, bringing the issue one step closer to a statewide vote. State election officials confirmed that supporters of the proposal submitted enough certified signatures to advance the measure to the Legislature, where lawmakers will now decide whether to act or allow it to proceed toward the 2026 ballot.
The proposal would not fully undo legalization. Adults 21 and older would still be allowed to possess and share limited amounts of marijuana. What it would eliminate, however, are two pillars of the current system: legal commercial sales and the right for adults to grow cannabis at home. In effect, the initiative aims to preserve personal possession while dismantling the regulated market approved by voters nearly a decade ago.
With the signature threshold met, the Legislature has a narrow window to adopt the measure outright, a move that would prevent it from appearing before voters. If lawmakers decline to do so, organizers will be required to collect additional signatures to formally qualify the question for the ballot.
The effort has drawn criticism from cannabis businesses and legalization advocates, some of whom allege that petitioners misrepresented the proposal while gathering signatures. Supporters deny those claims, framing the initiative as a reset rather than a repeal, and urging voters and lawmakers alike to reconsider what they describe as an overextended legalization experiment.
As Massachusetts continues to generate substantial revenue from its legal cannabis market, the push to roll it back sets the stage for a high-stakes debate. Whether the Legislature intervenes or leaves the decision to voters, the outcome could significantly reshape the state’s approach to marijuana policy—and test how durable voter-approved legalization truly is.
Dabbin-Dad Newsroom
