Opinion

By Meg Sanders

A few weeks ago, a community member out in the Berkshires was speaking with a staffer of ours at Canna Provisions. She had just heard that the petition to end adult use cannabis had potentially gathered enough signatures to move forward toward the 2026 ballot. “Well … that’ll never pass,” she said, waving her hand as if brushing away a fruit fly. “People love your store.” I wish that were enough.

In Massachusetts, we are now facing the most serious threat to the legal cannabis industry since voters approved it in 2016, and the most dangerous reaction I’m seeing is dismissal or the belief that progress is permanent. Or, worse, the assumption that someone else will handle it, that voters won’t move backward, that adult use is simply too big to fail. But let me be very clear as someone who has spent nearly 15 years in legal cannabis across multiple states: nothing in this industry is too big to fail. Not even legalization itself.

The Massachusetts Elections Division recently certified 78,301 signatures for a measure laughably called “An Act to Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policy,” which seeks to end all recreational cannabis sales and the ability for citizens to grow at home in Massachusetts, while preserving medical-only access. It is now officially moving to the Legislature, which has until this May to act. And if they decline a portion of the signatures collected, causing the initiative to fall under the required threshold, the proponents would need 12,429 more signatures to ensure the question gets on the November 2026 ballot.

That means the future of every retailer, cultivator, manufacturer, brand, and tens of thousands of direct jobs across the Commonwealth is officially on the line. Additionally, thousands of indirect jobs the industry supports will be lost. This means plumbers, landlords, snow plowers and landscapers, marketing professionals, electricians, accountants, lawyers, and more will all take a hard hit.

This is the beginning of a coordinated effort to unwind the very industry so many of us have spent years building — legally, transparently, and in partnership with our communities in Western Mass., as well as the state as a whole. And here’s the part that should alarm every business leader reading this: public opinion alone does not stop ballot initiatives. Organization does. Funding does. Showing up does.

We’ve already seen reporting that some of the signatures gathered may have been collected through deceptive or misleading tactics. But even if every signature were suspect, the measure is currently alive in the eyes of the state. That is what matters now. So the question before every operator comes down to a point of view. If someone is coming for your business, your staff, your customers, and your community partnerships, are you really going to sit this one out? If yes, how can you square that up with everyone mentioned in the previous sentence? Moreover, why would you want to?

“This is the beginning of a coordinated effort to unwind the very industry so many of us have spent years building — legally, transparently, and in partnership with our communities in Western Mass., as well as the state as a whole.”

At Canna Provisions, we’ve made our position crystal clear. We have long believed that every dollar spent is a vote for or against something. It’s why we stopped using Uline two years ago after learning about their aggressive anti-cannabis advocacy. And starting Jan. 1, 2026, we no longer accept deliveries in Uline packaging at all (and have encouraged partners to use a local service provider like W.B. Mason instead). If a partner still has stock, we will work with them, but we expect written assurances that they are transitioning vendors.

This is one example of a position showcasing voting with one’s dollars — because if you’re taking cannabis money while directly supporting anti-cannabis efforts, you are funding your own downfall. And if this rollback effort advances and a statewide campaign becomes necessary, we will not carry products or use vendors who refuse to financially support the fight to protect this industry, even if that support comes in the form of inaction and apathy to the threat level we are facing in 2026. That includes brands. Cultivators. Tech partners. Professional services. HVAC installers. Electricians. Plumbers. Everyone.

If that sounds harsh, ask yourself: what, exactly, is the alternative? What will the impact be, from tourism in the Berkshires (which we know has directly benefited from cannabis) to municipal revenue streams to the thousands of workers who rely on this economy? What happens to the local businesses we support, the charities we donate to, and the community partnerships we’ve built?

We are not talking about a minor regulatory adjustment. It would be the end of a business sector that has generated billions for the state, brought life into struggling towns, created pathways for equity and entrepreneurship, and, let’s not forget, delivered a safer, regulated alternative to the illicit market. Additional measures are now underway in both Maine and Arizona, making this an effort that may be beginning in the Commonwealth but is rapidly expanding across the country. If Massachusetts falls (or if the vote is precariously close), you can bet this will have ripple effects on cannabis freedom across the U.S.

Ending adult-use cannabis does not eliminate cannabis. It eliminates safe, regulated, legal cannabis, as it’s been embraced since voters passed Question 4 in 2016. This is the moment when our industry has to grow up. We cannot keep treating existential threats like spectator events. Operators cannot assume that the big companies will handle it. Equity operators cannot assume someone else will protect their hard-earned licenses. Vendors cannot assume their cannabis clients will still exist in two years if they stay on the sidelines now.

Everyone in the industry, including consumers, has skin in this game, and everyone has a responsibility to defend it. So here is my call to the business community, cannabis and non-cannabis alike. Pay attention. Ask your partners where their money goes. Support the organizations preparing to fight this ballot initiative. Refuse to fund vendors or suppliers who work against your interests. Stop assuming someone else will do the hard work — because they won’t. And because the people trying to end this industry are counting on your complacency.

I’ve said for years that trust and sustainability are the foundation of this industry. Today, I’ll add one more: vigilance. The rights we earned in 2016 can still be taken away, and if that happens, it will be because too many people thought their silence was harmless.

The next year will determine whether Massachusetts remains a leader in legal cannabis or becomes the first state in history to voluntarily dismantle its adult-use market. I know which future I’m fighting for. I hope the rest of the industry joins us.

The clock has already started.

Meg Sanders is CEO and co-founder of Canna Provisions.