Massachusetts officials confirmed this week that a measure to repeal the state's marijuana legalization law will appear on the November ballot, though the campaign faces a challenge to its latest signatures.
Cannabis reform advocate Kevin Gilnack filed an objection with the State Ballot Law Commission alleging many signatures were not genuine, were fraudulently gathered, or weren't "signed substantially as registered," involving unregistered addresses, requested removals, and forms that deviated from the state's official format in paper size, color, text or layout. "Such signatures should not have been certified, and should not be included in the number of allowed signatures required to qualify an initiative petition to be printed on the November 2026 ballot," the objection states. A commission hearing is set to begin Wednesday and could run through Friday.
Wendy Wakeman of the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts called the challenge "one last desperate attempt for big marijuana to keep this discussion from the voters," saying in an interview, "We're confident our signatures will stand."
The objection follows a Thursday letter from the Elections Division confirming the campaign narrowly met the requirement in its second signature round. Under state law, after legislators declined to act on the measure in May, organizers had to submit 12,429 additional certified signatures by July 1. Division official Michelle K. Tassinar said 12,551 of the 12,889 signatures submitted by the deadline were allowed, with the rest rejected for lacking certification, noncompliance with state law, or exceeding county caps, so the measure "will be printed on the November 3, 2026 state election ballot."
If enacted, the initiative would end regulated commercial marijuana sales and home cultivation but keep possession legal and preserve the medical program. Massachusetts cannabis businesses, health professionals and other advocates have formed a coalition to oppose it.
In June, the Coalition fired a canvasser after video showed him telling legalization supporters to sign the rollback petition so they could later vote it down, conduct the campaign called "wholly unacceptable." He also worked a similar Maine rollback measure. A staffer for Smart Approaches to Marijuana, whose SAM Action funds both campaigns, declined to comment.
The measure previously survived a lawsuit from cannabis industry operatives alleging "impermissibly unrelated subjects" and a misleading attorney general summary; the state Supreme Judicial Court rejected the challenge. Officials also earlier dismissed a complaint that the campaign used fake cover letters for unrelated measures during its first signature round.
