A group of Massachusetts citizens have filed an initiative petition to roll back marijuana legalization in the state, according to the MA attorney general’s office.
On Aug. 6, the attorney general’s office announced that 19 groups had filed 47 initiative petitions for new proposed laws or constitutional amendments.
Two of the proposed laws, both filed by Caroline Cunningham and signed by about 14 others, would repeal provisions in the current marijuana law passed in 2016 that allow for the drug to be sold commercially in the state. However, the process to become law is lengthy, and there are other challenges in its way.
What do the marijuana initiatives say?
The two proposed laws on marijuana are largely similar.
Both titled “An Act to Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policy,” they would repeal Chapters 94G and 64N in the Massachusetts general laws, which are sections that regulate the use, distribution and taxation of recreational marijuana.
It would also repeal adults’ right to cultivate cannabis at home.
It would decriminalize possession of more than one ounce but less than two ounces, and a violation of the law would only be a civil offense with a fine $100. While retail sales wouldn’t be allowed, adults would still be able to gift cannabis to each other.
Medical marijuana would stay legal under the proposals, but one would tighten THC limitations.
Will the initiatives succeed?
Proposed laws and constitutional amendments must go through a long process to make it to the statewide election ballot in November 2026.
First, the attorney general’s office must review whether the petitions meet certain constitutional requirements to be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. They will announce whether it’s been approved for certification on Sep. 3.
If the initiative petition for a proposed law is approved, the initiatives proponents are then required to gather 75,574 signatures from registered voters to file with the Secretary of the Commonwealth by Dec. 3.
Once those signatures are verified, it will be sent to the state legislature in January for its approval.
If the legislature does not enact the proposal, the proponents must then gather an additional 12,429 signatures from registered voters by July 1, 2026, to place the initiative on the November 2026 ballot.
The proposed laws are likely to face a few challenges along the way. Massachusetts has increasingly legalized marijuana and reduced criminal charges associated with the drug: voters made recreational cannabis legal in 2016, and retail sales became legal two years later. In 2024, Gov. Maura Healey pardoned misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions before March 13, 2024. And this year, the Democrat-controlled state House passed a bill that would expand marijuana laws, including increasing the purchase and possession limit from one to two ounces of marijuana.
In July the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission that total marijuana sales in the state have surpassed $8 billion.
Polls taken since legalization have also shown that Massachusetts residents largely approve of marijuana legalization. The MassINC Polling Group found in April of 2024 found that 65% of Massachusetts residents think that legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts was the right decision.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Could legal cannabis be rolled back in Massachusetts?