Massachusetts Voters Favor Keeping Legal Cannabis, New Polls Show

Ballot Question 4 Faces Steep Opposition

The repeal measure trails by 31 percentage points in the most recent independent poll, conducted by Suffolk University and the Boston Globe between September 22-26. The survey of 800 likely voters carries a margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points. Opposition to the repeal has hardened since August, when a UMass Amherst poll showed a 56-34 split against the measure.

Question 4, if passed, would overturn Chapter 334 of the Acts of 2016, the ballot initiative that legalized adult-use cannabis in Massachusetts. Since the first shops opened in November 2018, the state's Cannabis Control Commission has issued 403 retail licenses and collected $1.8 billion in excise tax revenue.

Demographics and Regional Splits

Support for repeal is concentrated among voters over 65 (48% favor repeal) and residents of rural Worcester and Berkshire counties, where local bans remain common. In Greater Boston, opposition to repeal reaches 71%. Among voters aged 18-34, 82% oppose the measure.

Surprisingly, the Suffolk poll found that 53% of registered Republicans oppose repeal. Independent voters—who make up 58% of the state's electorate—oppose repeal by a 64-29 margin. That GOP figure caught organizers of the Keep It Legal Massachusetts coalition off guard.

The Repeal Campaign's Funding and Strategy

Safe Communities Massachusetts, the committee backing the repeal, has raised $4.2 million through September 20 according to filings with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The largest donor is the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, which contributed $1.5 million. The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association donated $380,000.

Campaign messaging has focused on impaired driving and youth access. Television ads cite a 19% increase in cannabis-related DUI arrests from 2019 to 2025, though the State Police noted that total DUI arrests declined 11% over the same period. The repeal committee didn't respond to requests for comment on the polling data.

Opposition Campaign Outspends Repeal Effort

Keep It Legal Massachusetts has raised $11.7 million, with $6.3 million coming from the state's four largest MSOs: Curaleaf, Trulieve, Verano, and Acreage Holdings. The Massachusetts Medical Society, which opposed legalization in 2016, has remained neutral on the repeal question. The committee has reserved $4.8 million in broadcast and digital advertising through November 5.

Opposition strategy has emphasized tax revenue, job creation (the CCC reports 15,400 direct cannabis jobs as of August 2026), and the difficulty of re-legalizing cannabis if repeal passes. For full background on this story, see the CannIntel topic hub on Massachusetts Cannabis Ballot 2026.

What Repeal Would Trigger

If Question 4 passes, the attorney general's office has advised that possession and cultivation would revert to criminal penalties under pre-2016 statutes within 30 days of certification. The CCC would have 90 days to wind down operations. Licensed businesses would face immediate closure. The ballot language doesn't address existing inventory or whether operators could seek compensation.

Cities and towns have collected $287 million in local cannabis taxes since 2019, and the Massachusetts Municipal Association has warned that repeal would eliminate that revenue stream. Sixteen municipalities derive more than 5% of their annual general fund revenue from cannabis taxes, according to a September analysis by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

National Implications of a Repeal Vote

Massachusetts would become the first state to reverse adult-use legalization through a ballot measure if Question 4 passes. No state has repealed a cannabis program since Washington became the second adult-use state in 2012. Activists in Nebraska and Florida—both of which have legalization measures on the November 2026 ballot—are closely watching the Massachusetts vote.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, said in a September 28 statement that a Massachusetts repeal would "embolden prohibitionist efforts in states considering legalization." The Drug Policy Alliance has committed $500,000 to the Keep It Legal effort. It's their largest state-level expenditure in 2026.

Turnout and Ballot Position Variables

Question 4 appears fourth on a five-question ballot, a position that historically correlates with 8-12% lower participation than top-of-ballot races. In the 2022 midterms, Question 4 (an income surtax measure) saw 94% as many votes cast as the governor's race. A closely contested U.S. Senate race is expected to drive 2026 turnout above 70% of registered voters.

Early voting begins October 19. As of September 27, the Secretary of State's office had received 89,000 mail ballot requests, 14% above the comparable point in 2022. Polling locations will be required to post sample ballots that include the full text of Question 4, which runs 1,847 words.