FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Contact: Violet Cavendish
[email protected]
Boston, MA — Ten years after voting to legalize cannabis for adults, Massachusetts residents have voted to stay the course by defeating Question 8, which would have put an end to the state’s regulated cannabis market.
By voting "No" on Question 8, residents preserved a safe, regulated, and age-gated adult-use market that has led to a 50% reduction in teen cannabis use and a nearly 90% reduction in cannabis arrests. The defeat of Question 8 will also safeguard thousands of local jobs, hundreds of millions in state and local tax revenues, and critical consumer safety protections. The defeat of Question 8 marks a historic moment as Massachusetts becomes the first state in the nation to successfully beat back an organized ballot effort to undo voter-approved adult-use cannabis legalization.
“Despite a well-funded scare campaign, Massachusetts voters have chosen common sense by defeating the ballot initiative to end the state's legal adult-use cannabis market. This outcome shows that Massachusetts voters recognize the true value of regulated cannabis markets: reducing youth access, which means significantly fewer kids using cannabis; safer access for adults to rigorously tested and properly labeled products; plummeting arrest rates, which means fewer lives needlessly disrupted and fewer tax dollars wasted; tens of thousands of new jobs, and hundreds of millions in new revenues; and a recognition of personal liberty and freedom of consciousness.” - Adam J. Smith, Executive Director at the Marijuana Policy Project.
Had Question 8 passed, it would have shuttered retail dispensaries, leading to an explosion in the unregulated and non-age-gated illicit market, and eliminated legitimate jobs and vital tax revenues.
The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) played a leading role in the original 2016 campaign (Question 4), which legalized adult-use cannabis with 53.6% of the vote. Since legal retail sales launched in November 2018, the Commonwealth’s adult-use market has achieved significant economic and public safety milestones. The regulated market now generates over $1.6 billion in annual gross sales and yields nearly $300 million in annual state and local tax revenue, directly funding public education, local infrastructure, and social equity programs. The legal industry supports approximately 23,000 workforce jobs across cultivation, processing, testing, and retail operations statewide. Further, youth cannabis use in Massachusetts is down more than 50% since legalization, while arrests for cannabis possession are down more than 85%.
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Founded in 1995, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the nation’s leading cannabis policy reform organization. MPP has played a central role in passing dozens of cannabis policy reforms in states across the country, including 14 successful cannabis legalization campaigns, and also works to advance federal reforms.