Marijuana Ballot Initiatives

Massachusetts Voters Overwhelmingly Reject an Attempt To Repeal Marijuana Legalization

If anything, a decade of experience with legal recreational cannabis seems to have reinforced opposition to pot prohibition in the Bay State.

Jacob Sullum | 11.4.2026 12:00 AM

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Ten years ago, Massachusetts voters approved Question 4, a ballot initiative that legalized possession, home cultivation, and commercial distribution of recreational marijuana. On Tuesday, they declined to reverse that decision, overwhelmingly rejecting Question 8, which would have eliminated the legal recreational market and prohibited cannabis consumers from growing their own. With 48 percent of the ballots counted, 76 percent of voters had said no to Question 8.

That result is broadly consistent with nine polls conducted from mid-February to mid-October, where support for Question 8 ranged from 20........

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