Page 5 - BusinessWest April 27, 2026

raise the dollars they have, they have a very good chance
of winning.”
The ballot measure’s main goal is to end legal, rec-
reational cannabis by repealing the laws that made the
trade permissible in the Bay State. That means closing
adult-use dispensaries and ending the regulated retail
market, eliminating home growing, banning personal
cultivation, and scaling back possession; adults could
still possess around 1 ounce without criminal penalties,
while larger amounts could bring civil fines instead of
full criminal charges.
Medical marijuana would remain legal; the proposal
generally keeps the medical cannabis system in place,
though potentially with tighter rules. As a result, Mas-
sachusetts would shift from a fully legal, taxed, commer-
cial cannabis market to one with no legal recreational
sales, limited personal possession, and medical-only
legal access.
The name of the repeal initiative is “An Act to Restore
a Sensible Marijuana Policy,” and that’s problematic on
its own, Sanders said.
“The complexity of the legislation, and the title of the
bill, are so misleading. People think, ‘of course I want
common sense,’” she noted, adding that there’s no rea-
son to relitigate cannabis legalization at all.
“For us as an industry, and people who support this
“We have to be aware that, if
we do nothing, or do the bare
minimum, it could pass. Full
legalization didn’t have that
big a margin. There are people
in Massachusetts who don’t
love this particular product,
MEG SANDERS
who don’t support the indus-
try, who have fears about it, concerns about it. And
I get that — but our job is to educate them.”
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industry, and people that believe in freedom, this ques-
tion has been asked and answered,” she said — but that
doesn’t mean it’s safe from repeal, especially if midterm
election turnout is low and the pro-repeal faction is
more motivated to get to the polls.
“We have to be aware that, if we do nothing, or do
the bare minimum, it could pass. Full legalization didn’t
have that big a margin. There are people in Massachu-
setts who don’t love this particular product, who don’t
support the industry, who have fears about it, concerns
about it. And I get that — but our job is to educate them.
“Sending this back underground is not what constitu-
ents want,” Sanders went on. “I don’t think people want
folks to start going back to jail because of a plant. And
if we ban all adult-use stores, the revenue loss would be
huge. The industry has proven time and again that it’s
doing the right thing, carding people correctly, not adver-
tising to children, being very thoughtful with how we
present ourselves in the community, and doing the best
we can to be good corporate stewards.”
Behind the Campaign
The ballot campaign is being led by Wendy Wake-
man, spokesperson for Coalition for a Healthy Massa-
chusetts, who opposes recreational cannabis on numer-
ous grounds, from public health impacts, especially on
young people, to crime and corruption, to even the per-
vasive smell of weed in public places.
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APRIL 27, 2026
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