Massachusetts voters are not interested in repealing adult use cannabis. 71 percent oppose Question 8, the November ballot measure that would end retail sales and recriminalize home cultivation, against just 24 percent in favor. The numbers are not close.
Massachusetts voters are not interested in repealing adult use cannabis. 71 percent oppose Question 8, the November ballot measure that would end retail sales and recriminalize home cultivation, against just 24 percent in favor. The numbers are not close.
The numbers are not close
More than 70 percent of Massachusetts voters oppose Question 8, the November ballot measure that would end adult use cannabis retail sales and recriminalize home cultivation. That is the finding of a new University of New Hampshire Survey Center Bay State Poll, and it is about as decisive as polling gets.
The headline numbers: 71 percent plan to vote against the measure, only 24 percent in favor. The poll surveyed 590 respondents with a margin of error of 4 percent. Question 8 needs a 50 percent plus one simple majority to pass, so the repeal side is staring at a gap of nearly 50 points with weeks to go.
Here is the direct answer operators want: in a $1.65 billion annual market, voters are not interested in going back. Even among self described conservatives and Republicans, only 33 percent said they would vote in favor, barely ahead of the 23 percent of Democrats who said the same.
Money lost to voters
The fundraising story makes this result sting even more for the repeal side. Through the end of August, SAM Action Inc., the political arm of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, committed nearly $3.2 million to the so called Coalition for Healthy Massachusetts. The cannabis industry, including major multistate operators, raised roughly $1.54 million in response.
So the repeal campaign enjoyed more than a 2 to 1 fundraising advantage and still trails by nearly 50 points. Both campaigns held similar cash on hand at the end of August, about $980,000 for repeal and about $947,000 for the opposition, which means the spending phase is now. But money only works when the message resonates, and “shut down the stores” is not resonating.
There is also a trust problem. Question 8 reached the ballot amid accusations that paid signature gatherers used deceptive tactics to trick voters into helping it qualify. Courts protect that kind of activity as free speech, but voters remember being fooled, and that memory shows up in polls like this one.
Why operators everywhere should watch this fight
Massachusetts is the first real test of a national repeal strategy. If Question 8 passes, the state becomes the first in the country to end a legal adult use industry after years of sales, and every prohibitionist group in America gets a playbook. If it fails badly, the opposite happens.
Ryan Dominguez, chair of the No on 8 campaign, told MJBizDaily exactly that: “If we beat SAM here, I think it’s an opportunity for us to put a really big dent in what they’re able to do going forward.”
Repeal efforts are already on the move elsewhere. An Arizona repeal effort fizzled earlier this year, while a campaign in Maine was collecting signatures to put repeal on the ballot. Massachusetts sets the precedent either way.
The local revenue angle is the quiet killer for repeal. In Gardner, a town of about 21,000 people in Worcester County, repeal would cost city coffers $300,000 a year. Multiply that argument across every host community in the state and you get a coalition of mayors and town councils who have zero interest in blowing a hole in their budgets. Operators fighting future repeal attempts should lead with that number, not with ideology. Voters may disagree about cannabis, but they agree about their town’s budget.
For more on market strain, see why 57 percent of NY cannabis operators lose money as Albany eyes a wage board. For the next ballot fight, see Florida recreational ballot measures for 2028.
FAQ
1. What is Massachusetts Question 8? Question 8 is a November ballot measure that would ban adult use cannabis retail sales and recriminalize home cultivation in Massachusetts. Adult possession and medical marijuana sales would remain legal.
2. What does the new poll show? The University of New Hampshire Bay State Poll found 71 percent of voters plan to vote against Question 8 and 24 percent in favor, with a 4 percent margin of error across 590 respondents.
3. Who is funding the repeal campaign? SAM Action Inc., the political arm of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, committed nearly $3.2 million through the end of August. The cannabis industry raised roughly $1.54 million in opposition.
4. What happens if Question 8 passes? Massachusetts would become the first state to end a legal adult use cannabis industry after years of sales, and host communities would lose significant local tax revenue.
5. What happens if Question 8 fails? A decisive loss would damage the national repeal playbook and weaken SAM, the legalization movement’s main opponent, heading into fights in other states.
Credit: Reporting by MJBizDaily.