Four Massachusetts cannabis operators have filed a legal challenge against the ballot initiative seeking to repeal the state’s adult-use marketplace this November, Bloomberg Law reports.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Supreme Judicial Court, claims the ballot measure violates the state constitution by combining multiple issues into a single ballot question and because of its “failure to present a unified statement of public policy to the voters.”
The ballot measure, titled the “Act to Restore Sensible Marijuana Policy,” was approved for this year’s ballot in January despite allegations that the reform campaign used fraudulent signature-gathering practices, including bait-and-switch tactics and lying to signatories about the petition’s purpose.
The lawsuit names Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Secretary of State William Galvin as defendants for their roles in allowing the petition to advance. The complaint requests “that this Court quash the Attorney General’s certification of the Petition and enjoin the Secretary of the Commonwealth from placing the Petition on the ballot for the 2026 general election.”
If approved by voters, the ballot initiative would repeal adult-use cannabis sales and the state’s home grow provisions. Instead, the initiative contains language to decriminalize the possession of up to two ounces of cannabis.
A poll found last month that just 20% of Massachusetts residents said they would support repealing the state’s adult-use industry.
