“Statewide Weekend of Action Highlights Growing Momentum to Stop Repeal of Legal Cannabis in Massachusetts“
The following is via the “No on 8: Stop the Repeal” official campaign:
This weekend, supporters joined across the Commonwealth for a statewide Weekend of Action, getting out in communities and mobilizing voters, demonstrating the growing grassroots support for protecting regulated cannabis and the jobs, revenue and communities it supports.
“This weekend, we brought the No on 8 campaign directly to the people of Massachusetts, knocking on doors, having meaningful conversations with our neighbors and making sure voters have the necessary facts on what repealing adult-use cannabis would mean for our communities and how to make their voices heard this November,” said No on 8: Stop the Repeal Chairperson Ryan Dominguez. “Building our grassroots movement by showing up in our communities and having meaningful conversations has been critical to our momentum. This weekend has been a powerful reminder that when we come together, organize and talk to our friends, families and neighbors, we can make a real impact at the ballot box.”
Across nine communities from Springfield to Lynn, volunteers, community leaders, labor allies, cannabis workers, small business owners and supporters knocked on doors, spoke with voters and made the case that Massachusetts should move forward, not backward, to protect the highly-regulated legal cannabis industry that prioritizes public health, consumer safety, responsible regulation and equitable opportunities.
“Four years ago, my family and I opened 6 Brick’s in downtown Springfield because we believed a regulated cannabis industry could create real jobs and real ownership in our community. It has,” said Payton Shubrick, CEO and Founder of 6 Brick’s, and Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition. “We employ our neighbors, we partner with local nonprofits and small businesses, and we pay taxes that stay in this Commonwealth. A repeal doesn’t make cannabis disappear — it just hands it back to an unregulated market with no testing, no age verification, and no accountability, and it wipes out the businesses and jobs that Massachusetts voters asked us to build. That’s not a step forward for anyone.”
“We’re in support of the No on 8 campaign. Let’s save our legal industry that the commonwealth overwhelmingly voted in favor for over 10 years ago,” Marcus Johnson-Smith, owner of Kush Groove shared.
“Voters had the right idea in 2016 when they voted to legalize adult use cannabis sales. We think those same votes will turn out to keep adult-use cannabis legal and vote against Question 8 repeal in November,” said Wes Ritchie, co-CEO of Tree House Craft Cannabis, which employs 57 people across its four locations and has paid over $5 million in state cannabis taxes since it first opened in 2021. “We’re happy to knock on doors, make calls, and do whatever we can to remind voters to come out and keep this regulated industry legal so that we can keep growing, employing folks, and paying our taxes just like any other business.”
“Today and every day moving forward, it is extremely important for the cannabis industry to engage with the community and educate people about Question 8. The entire legal cannabis industry is on the line. Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are at risk, tens of thousands of jobs are on the line, and hundreds of small businesses that have built this industry over the last 10 years could vanish,” said Alex Mazin, CEO of Bud’s Goods. “This ballot threatens all the good legalization has brought to Massachusetts. Voting No saves all these things from happening. Voting Yes destroys all the progress we have made in the state over the past decade.”
Since voters made a clear choice to replace restrictive policies with a safe, regulated cannabis market ten years ago, the industry has become an important part of the state’s economy, generating nearly $2 billion in state and local revenue while supporting workers, small businesses and communities.
The campaign’s growing coalition includes labor organizations, cannabis industry leaders, small business owners, community advocates, and voters who believe Massachusetts should preserve the legal, regulated cannabis industry rather than repeal it.
The Weekend of Action is part of an ongoing statewide effort to educate and mobilize voters about the serious economic and public safety impact that repealing highly-regulated recreational marijuana would have across our state.
