Should Massachusetts end its legalization of recreational marijuana?

It's a question voters might have a chance to decide on the November 2026 general election ballot.

Republican state committeewoman and Sudbury resident Caroline Cunningham is working to put a question on the ballot that would end recreational marijuana sales in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts attorney general’s office recently published 47 proposed initiatives for the 2026 ballot, including two from Cunningham.

Under the proposed “Act To Restore A Sensible Marijuana Policy,” adults 21 and older could continue to possess up to one ounce of cannabis, with possession of between one and two ounces subject to a $100 fine. The initiatives would repeal the state’s current provisions allowing commercial cannabis retailers and regulated adult-use sales. Home cultivation of marijuana for recreational use would also be banned.

Cunningham told NewBostonPost via email that she filed the potential ballot question to protect public health.

"These measures are supported by a diverse statewide coalition of teachers, elected officials, parents, small business owners, medical professionals, and mental health professionals," she wrote. "These initiatives maintain the medical marijuana stores, continue to allow for personal possession of recreational and medical marijuana, and remove the recreational marijuana stores. Nearly 40% of Massachusetts municipalities already have chosen to opt out of allowing for recreational marijuana stores in their neighborhoods. Massachusetts voters deserve the opportunity to choose a new sensible statewide marijuana policy and that is exactly what these measures provide."

Supporters of recreational marijuana say legalization has created jobs, generated tax revenue, and undercut the black market, while opponents argue it fuels addiction, impairs public health, and brings more problems than benefits.

The two versions of the marijuana rollback initiative that Cunningham filed are mostly the same but differ on one key point: THC potency limits for medical marijuana.

Both versions would end commercial recreational marijuana sales, keep possession limits for adults, and maintain the medical cannabis program. However, one version adds strict THC caps on medical cannabis products. It would require the Cannabis Control Commission to ban flower with more than 30 percent THC and concentrates exceeding 60 percent THC or more than 5 milligrams of THC per serving. The more restrictive version also bans certain concentrates that don’t provide clear, metered dosing or exceed 20 servings per package.

If the state attorney general's office approves the potential ballot question language, it would still have a long way to go before making the November 2026 ballot, as the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office points out.

Initiative petitions in Massachusetts require two separate rounds of signature gathering before they can qualify for the ballot. The number of signatures needed is based on turnout from the most recent governor’s election.

Round 1 starts once petition forms are prepared by the Secretary of State. For 2026, petitioners can expect forms to be available around mid-September after filing a request on the first Wednesday of that month. Supporters of a potential ballot question must submit signatures of registered voters to local election officials by Wednesday, November 19, 2025, to allow time for certification, and then collect the signature sheets from the local town halls and city halls and deliver them to the Secretary of State's Elections Division in Boston by Wednesday, December 3, 2025.

To move past Round 1, petitions must gather signatures equal to 3 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the last election — about 74,574 signatures statewide for 2026. No more than 25 percent of those can come from a single county, meaning no more than 18,643 signatures per county. (Massachusetts has 14 counties.)

If the petition meets that threshold, it goes to the Massachusetts legislature for review. If lawmakers don’t act on it by the first Wednesday in May — which next year is May 6, 2026 — petitioners can move to Round 2.

Round 2 opens on May 6, 2026, when petitioners request new petition forms, and ends on the first Wednesday in July — which next year is July 1, 2026 — with the filing of additional certified signatures. For this round, petitioners need to collect the equivalent of one-half of 1 percent of the votes cast for governor — roughly 12,429 signatures statewide — again with the 25 percent cap per county (about 3,107 signatures).

Only after successfully completing both rounds can the petition officially qualify for the November 2026 ballot.