Ten years later, here comes a rematch on marijuana legalization

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Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

That’s the case with the proposed ballot question seeking to roll back the marijuana market in Massachusetts, with the aim of shuttering retail shops that have sprung up across the state.

If the rollback initiative, a reversal of the 2016 one that legalized marijuana for recreational use, clears several more hurdles on its way to the ballot, it sets up what promises to be an expensive rematch of sorts between marijuana advocates and opponents, who lost that year despite having a popular governor, the attorney general and the mayor of Boston at the time on their side.

Advocates called for regulating marijuana like alcohol, while opponents argued it presented safety risks, like drugged driving.

The ballot question comes as the cannabis industry is struggling as prices fall, and the regulatory structure created to oversee industry could be swept away and replaced by state lawmakers, who are weighing an overhaul of the Cannabis Control Commission.

Proponents have tapped GOP strategist Wendy Wakeman to lead the signature-gathering effort. She declined to say who is funding her group, though filings due later this month could offer some information. (In 2016, opposition to marijuana legalization was funded by a motley crew that included casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who is now dead, and Wynn Resorts and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.)

Wakeman pointed to the same drugged driving concerns, leading to less safe streets, that were voiced in 2016. “The public smoking of marijuana is out of control,” she said. “It’s not working for Massachusetts people, so we should take a step back.”

“I think we need to do a better job of protecting the most vulnerable folks from harming themselves and others,” she added.

On the other side, legalization advocates, consumers and the industry are rallying to oppose a rollback. Adam Fine, a top attorney in the industry, is chairing the Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation, which formed before the end of 2025.

The national advocacy group known as the Marijuana Policy Project, which helped fund the 2016 question, is involved again in preserving legalization.

“We will not let a group of retrograde prohibitionists eliminate thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in local and state revenues while turning the market over to dealers who don’t check IDs and don’t pay taxes,” said Fine, who was also involved in the 2016 effort to legalize.

Cannabis sales have brought in roughly $2 billion in state and local revenues since legalization, according to the Mass. Budget & Policy Center. Retail sales since then hit more than $8 billion as of Aug. 2025.

Marijuana legalization supporters have leveled objections that paid signature gatherers misled voters about what they were signing, according to a complaint filed by attorney Thomas Kiley. But getting signatures thrown out is a tall order, as Secretary of State Bill Galvin noted to the State House News Service.

"You're talking tens of thousands of signatures, to come up with enough that are going to be disqualified in a short period of time, because the Ballot Law Commission is time limited, 10 days, I think. So good luck. I hope they have a nice time," Galvin said.

How many questions were on the ballot in 2016, and for bonus points, what were they, aside from marijuana legalization? Send me your answers here: [email protected].

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HAPPENING TODAY

9:00 | The Supreme Judicial Court sits with two cases on docket. | John Adams Courthouse, Rm 1, Boston | More Info

10:30 | MassEcon hosts 2026 Massachusetts Economic Outlook. Dr. Mark Melnik, Director of Economic Public Policy & Research at the UMass Donahue Institute, is the featured speaker and the event will include remarks from leaders in finance and commercial real estate. | Genesis, 640 Memorial Drive, Cambridge

11:00 | U.S. Sen. Ed Markey holds a press conference on federal changes to childhood and adolescent vaccination recommendations. He's joined by Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein, and Dr. Vincent Chiang and Dr. Sara Toomey of Boston Children's Hospital. | Boston Children's Hospital Folkman Auditorium, John F. Enders Research Laboratory, 320 Longwood Ave., Boston

11:00 | Mayor Michelle Wu delivers remarks at the graduation ceremony for the Boston Police Department Recruit Class 66-25. | IBEW Local 103, 256 Freeport Street, Dorchester

4:00 | The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board holds a meeting to "consider the appointment of an Interim CEO." Sources say John Barros, a businessman and economic development chief under former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, is in line for the job. | Agenda and Access

POLITICAL INTEL

….Fresh out of prison after a stint on corruption charges, former Boston Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson has some thoughts on how her former colleagues handled the election of City Council president. In a 1,200-word essay sent to her supporters, Fernandes Anderson, a frequent critic of Mayor Michelle Wu and a self-described “lone wolf” during her council tenure, took aim at Wu and her allies on the council, which chose Liz Breadon over Brian Worrell in Monday’s messy 7-6 vote. “Mayor Wu emerged untouched once again, hovering above the wreckage while others carried out the damage on her behalf,” Fernandes Anderson wrote. Councilors “forfeited a historic opportunity to elect a Black man as council president, an outcome that would have represented independence, integrity, and long-overdue significance”....

….Katie Choe, the chief of staff to MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, has taken a job as CEO of the Virginia Railway Express, a commuter rail service. Her last day at the T, where she spent six years, was Friday. Eng has not yet named a successor, but in a statement wished Choe well. Before becoming chief of staff in 2023, she worked as chief of compliance and chief of capital delivery. The MIT grad previously spent six years in Boston City Hall’s public works department and nearly 14 years at Massport….

….Don Seiffert, the Boston Business Journal’s longtime managing editor, is headed to GBH News as senior digital editor. His first day at the Brighton-based public media powerhouse is Jan. 20. Seiffert’s resume, which includes 12 years at the BBJ, also includes editing the Newton TAB and the Brockton Enterprise.

FROM BEACON HILL

INCUMBENT PROTECTION BILLS: Senators plan to take up several tax relief bills next week after slamming the door shut on Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s property tax shift proposal. The action comes after they came under fire from Wu for inaction on her bill, and Sens. William Brownsberger and Nick Collins quickly drew election-year opponents. Senators also plan to take up a bill requiring committees behind statewide ballot questions to submit campaign finance reports more frequently. – CommonWealth Beacon

REP. RESIGNS: Rep. Natalie Blais, a Deerfield Democrat who has held the 1st Franklin seat for seven years, plans to resign, effective Jan. 19, to take a government relations job at UMass Amherst. – Greenfield Recorder

HEALTH INSURANCE BILLS: Gov. Maura Healey announced that a special state trust fund will be used to help roughly 270,000 residents whose health care costs are skyrocketing due to Congressional inaction on federal subsidies that expired Dec. 31. – WBUR

WORLD CUP WORRIES: In a new report, Massachusetts officials are raising concerns about funding for World Cup events this summer, as well as a location for FanFest, which hasn’t been decided on. – State House News Service

‘ANTI-AMERICAN’ TACTICS: Gov. Maura Healey said ICE, the immigration enforcement agency, is deploying “disturbing and anti-American” tactics as its masked agents skitter across the state. – WBUR

HOUSING BILL: Speaking to Nantucket’s select board, Cape and Islands Sen. Julian Cyr said he’ll be “trying my best to ensure” a 2026 housing bill includes a housing transfer fee. – Nantucket Current

NEWS NEXT DOOR

ICE VIDEO: After reviewing video of an ICE agent shooting and killing a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, former Boston Police commissioner Ed Davis said he was reminded of the “bad old days,” when guns in pursuit of motor vehicles was more prevalent. Boston was one of the first places to stop the practice. – MassLive

INSURANCE MERGER: Worcester-based nonprofit insurance provider Fallon Health is merging with Mass General Brigham’s health plan. The merger needs state approval and does not have a timeline. – Boston Business Journal

NONPROFIT CEO: The board of directors of the nonprofit Massachusetts Housing Partnership has tapped Rachael Heller to replace retiring Clark Ziegler. Heller, who is the CEO of Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), starts March 30. – Banker & Tradesman

CITY PORTS: Local and state officials are figuring out what to do with New Bedford’s ports as the offshore wind industry seeks to weather a hostile Trump administration. – New Bedford Light

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THE SUNDAY SHOWS

@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard interviews Liz Breadon, the new Boston City Council president.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. Congressman Stephen Lynch is the guest.

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