By March 23, 2026
A group of lawmakers on Monday questioned the woman representing a ballot initiative to repeal recreational marijuana sales, with some expressing concern such a move would create an illicit pot market.
“Are we not setting up a black market with this question?” asked Representative Michael Day, a Stoneham Democrat.
Wendy Wakeman, spokesperson for the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, replied: “It’s a great question . . . That’s not how I look at it, but I see your point.”
Cannabis advocates packed the State House hearing of the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions, as part of a routine procedural step in which the committee weighs whether to adopt ballot initiatives before they land before voters.
The hearing was a rare face-to-face meeting of advocates from either side of the cannabis legalization issue, who have been engaged in campaigns and a brief legal skirmish with each other since state officials authorized a petition push last fall to do away with recreational dispensaries in the state. The measure is slated to appear on ballots in November.
MassBudget Reference:
The proceedings opened with expert testimony from Jessica Troe, deputy director of research and policy analysis at Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center whose September report showed that revenues collected by the state since pot shops opened totaled nearly $2 billion, or one-quarter of a percent of all revenues.
