Massachusetts voters have decisively rejected Question 8, the ballot measure that would have shut down the state’s adult-use cannabis market. The Associated Press called the race just before midnight ET on Election Night, with an estimated 48 percent of votes counted.
In the latest unofficial results, according to The Boston Globe (via AP), with about 86 percent of the expected vote in, 75.69 percent of voters (1,742,125) opposed the measure and 24.31 percent (559,499) supported it. Results will be certified in the coming weeks.
The measure would have repealed the state’s recreational cannabis laws, shut down licensed retail sales and ended the right of adults 21 and older to grow cannabis at home (up to six plants per person, 12 per household). The medical program and limited personal possession would have remained in place. The changes would not have taken effect until Jan. 1, 2028.
Question 8 was the first time U.S. voters were asked to dismantle an existing recreational cannabis industry. The repeal campaign, run by the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, was bankrolled almost entirely by the national prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Opponents included Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and more than 50 state lawmakers.
The result is a notable jump in support from 2016, when voters approved legalization with 53.66 percent of the vote. This year’s “no” vote runs about 22 points higher.
Industry Reacts
As the first test of whether voters would undo legalization once a market was up and running, the result is likely to resonate well beyond Massachusetts.
Bryan Barash, vice president of marketing, partnerships and external affairs at Dutchie, whose platform powers dispensaries across Massachusetts and beyond, called the outcome a win for the state’s consumers, businesses and cannabis workers.
“Voters have reaffirmed their support for a safe, regulated adult-use market and the progress Massachusetts has made over nearly a decade,” Barash said in a statement. “Now, the focus turns to building on that progress, supporting the operators who have invested in the Commonwealth and ensuring Massachusetts’ cannabis industry continues to grow and thrive.”
Daniel Cook, CEO of True Terpenes, said the vote should push the industry to raise its standards.
“While this is good news, the conversation around cannabis safety and public health shouldn’t end with this vote,” Cook said. “If anything, it reinforces the responsibility the industry has to keep raising the bar around testing, product quality, consumer education and safety.”
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