A ballot question threatened the future of Massachusetts’ recreational cannabis industry, putting the legal status of marijuana businesses statewide at risk nearly a decade after legalization.
Question 8 in the 2026 midterm election would have repealed the laws that legalized adult recreational use of cannabis. With 99% of the vote counted, the Associated Press called the race shortly before midnight Nov. 3 as 75.6% of voters chose “No” in the referendum.
Massachusetts’ cannabis industry exceeded $10 billion in gross revenue in September, and it employs nearly 15,000 people, according to Massachusetts’ Cannabis Control Commission…