Massachusetts cannabis businesses sued Tuesday in the state Supreme Judicial Court to block a ballot initiative that would roll back recreational marijuana legalization.
The complaint, brought by Cannabis Social Equity Program participants Stem Haverhill owner Caroline Pineau, Treevit LLC CEO Gyasi Sellers, and Paper 4 Crane Provisions majority owners Lisa Mauriello and Boey Bertold and represented by Vicente LLP, argues the initiative violates the state Constitution by bundling "impermissibly unrelated subjects" and that Attorney General Andrea Campbell (D) issued a "misleading and deficient" summary. The plaintiffs want the court to declare the initiative invalid, find Campbell erred in certifying it, and enjoin Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin (D) from putting it on the November ballot.
The initiative, titled "An Act to Restore Sensible Marijuana Policy" and backed by the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, improperly combines criminal justice changes, elimination of the Social Equity Program, removal of municipal control over marijuana establishments, elimination of professional discipline protections, removal of public consumption and open container safeguards, and dismantling of medical marijuana regulatory protections. The suit calls this "a classic example of logrolling" that forces voters to accept provisions they oppose to secure those they support.
Coalition spokesperson Wendy Wakeman told The Boston Globe she finds it "surprising that this group is so opposed to asking the voters what they think of legalized marijuana."
If enacted, the measure would repeal commercial recreational sales and home cultivation without reinstating blanket prohibition. Adults 21 and older could still possess up to one ounce; one to two ounces would carry a $100 fine; cannabis gifting and medical sales would remain legal.
The initiative is before the legislature, which has until May 5 to act. Without legislative action, proponents must collect at least 12,429 certified signatures by July 1 for November ballot placement.
A Bay State Poll from the University of New Hampshire's States of Opinion Project found most Massachusetts adults oppose the initiative. Separate polling found nearly half of petition signers felt misled, with many saying the measure was pitched as addressing public education or housing. The State Ballot Law Commission rejected a signature-gathering challenge in January, calling allegations "unsupported." The state's marijuana regulatory chief has warned the measure could jeopardize tax revenue for substance misuse treatment. Massachusetts has surpassed $9 billion in adult-use sales since 2018; a Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) report found 84 percent of past-year users sourced cannabis through licensed outlets.
