Question 8 Wouldn't Make Weed Illegal. It Would Close the Stores. Know the Difference Before Tomorrow
A yes vote ends recreational retail sales on Jan. 1, 2028. Medical marijuana stays. Both sides' big numbers are campaign claims, not audits.
By Dez Marlowe ·
Tomorrow you're voting on Question 8, and a lot of people think it's a vote on whether marijuana is legal. It's not exactly. According to the state's official voter guide, a yes vote repeals the laws allowing recreational retail sales, regulation and taxation, effective Jan. 1, 2028, and changes possession rules. Medical marijuana stays legal. A no vote changes nothing.
Voters approved legal recreational marijuana in 2016. If Question 8 passes, Massachusetts would be shutting down a legal market that's been running for years.
Supporters point to stats on impaired driving and teen ER visits. Opponents say repeal would cost jobs and tax money and push buyers to an unregulated market. WBUR and GBH have walked through both sides. Here's my warning: the biggest numbers on both sides are arguments about what might happen, not counted results.
Read the actual question on the Secretary of State's site before you vote. It takes five minutes.
What we still don't know: how many dispensaries would switch to medical licenses instead of closing, and how much tax money would actually disappear.
Sources
Dez Marlowe is a Boston Uncut reporter covering Boston, Massachusetts, national and world news.