ByMay 19, 2026
Tax revenue from recreational marijuana, one of the state’s most highly taxed consumer products, could vanish if a November ballot question seeking to eliminate the industry succeeds.
Last year, weed taxes raised $289 million for state government, the same as cigarettes — and nearly three times more than alcohol. Towns and cities, meanwhile, collected $50 million. Combined, cannabis taxes have almost surpassed $2 billion since pot shops opened eight years ago.
Pot taxes account for only around half a percent of Massachusetts’ total tax revenues, but losing that money could spell trouble for some towns and state efforts, especially addiction services. Surging inflation and health care costs are choking government budgets, prompting many towns and cities to ask voters for property tax overrides this spring.
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“Like with every revenue stream in the Commonwealth, if you lose out on that . . . [the budget] gets squeezed,” said Jessica Troe, deputy director of research at Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center, a think tank.
Last year, state excise taxes and fees from weed sales funded over 70 percent of the budget for Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, Troe said. The bureau bankrolls recovery groups and oversees hundreds of treatment programs.
