Boston, MA: Dozens of Massachusetts elected officials are publicly voicing their opposition to a November ballot initiative (Question 8) that seeks to repeal key elements of the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law.
In recent days, US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Gov. Maura Healey, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu have all expressed their intention to vote ‘no’ on Question 8. They join over 50 state lawmakers, including Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka, who have lined up against the initiative.
Question 8 seeks to repeal decade-old laws permitting adults to home-cultivate limited quantities of marijuana for personal use and regulating the adult-use retail cannabis market.. Financing for the campaign has come almost entirely from a single out-of-state special interest group.
Statewide polling shows little public support for Question 8. Polling released this week by Suffolk University and The Boston Globe finds that 71 percent of voters intend to vote against the initiative. A subsequent UMass poll released Oct. 21, finds that most voters think the legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts has been positive for the state’s economy, tax revenue, local communities and criminal justice system.
“This campaign is not about promoting the health and safety of Massachusetts residents. It is a trial balloon by a prohibitionist interest group intent upon rolling back legal cannabis markets nationwide,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano wrote in recent commentary in The Boston Herald.
November’s vote marks the first time that voters have ever decided on a ballot measure to repeal an existing adult-use marijuana legalization law. Massachusetts voters approved legalization in 2016.
NORML has several resources and fact sheets opposing the initiative campaign available in Election Central. Additional information is available from the Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation.