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Massachusetts Initiative To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization Officially Qualifies For November Ballot

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Officials in Massachusetts have formally certified an An initiative to roll back that state’s marijuana legalization law will appear on the November ballot.

The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Division of Elections notified organizers on Thursday that they had delivered enough valid signatures in the second round of petitions to put the measure before the voters—but just barely.

Under state law, Massachusetts ballot campaigns must submit signatures in two rounds. After the first presentation, the legislature has the opportunity to propose ballot measures after the organizers have presented the initial round of requests. Legislators in May he refused to act on the anti-marijuana measurehowever, and therefore the organizers had to present 12,429 more certified signatures by July 1 for the November vote.

“I am pleased to inform you that this Office has accepted 12,551 certified signatures received on or before July 1, 2026,” Michelle K. Tassinar of the Division of Elections wrote in a letter to one of the initial signatories. “The remaining signatures were voided for not being certified, inconsistent with the interpretation of (state law) or exceeding the number allowed for each county.”

“Therefore, the petition for the initiative will be printed on the November 3, 2026 state election ballot as required by the Constitution,” he said.

Meanwhile, a coalition of Massachusetts marijuana entrepreneurs, health care professionals and other advocates has launched a campaign to defeat the measure, which if enacted, would repeal laws that allow for the regulated commercial sale of recreational cannabis and home cultivation, while maintaining legal ownership and continuing the medical marijuana system.

In June, the campaign behind the legalization measure, the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, released a signature-gatherer that it says showed “totally unacceptable” behavior in a recent video.

As Marihuana Moment reported, a The man was petitioning for the Massachusetts initiative, as well as a similar anti-cannabis proposal in Maine Recent social media posts suggested that voters who support legal access to marijuana should sign petitions to advance or support the reform.

The campaign later said it has “zero tolerance” for circulation tactics that would mislead petition signers.

“The identified canvasser was terminated immediately, in coordination with our vendor, upon learning of the alleged conduct,” the team said. “The behavior shown in the video would be completely unacceptable and does not reflect how this campaign works. We demand honesty, transparency and professionalism from everyone associated with our efforts.”

A video posted on Reddit shows the petitioner collecting signatures outside a Massachusetts retail store next to a sign that says “keep cannabis legal.”

When the petitioner confronted a marijuana reform supporter who recorded interactions with voters, it appears he was trying to convince them that getting the anti-cannabis measure on the ballot is important to defeating it later.

“This is what we’re fighting here. That’s why we’re voting no,” he said. “If we can bring this to a vote right here, we will vote no.”

The person who received the video noted that Massachusetts voters already approved the legalization of marijuana years ago, and the only way to immediately reverse it would be if the new ballot measure qualified for the November election. If the initiative doesn’t get enough signatures to go before the voters, state laws will remain the same.

“It’s my job,” insisted the applicant, however. “I know what I’m talking about.”

“It’s a group of wealthy out-of-state people who basically want to take marijuana back to the time when medical marijuana was the ticket,” he said. “We don’t want that to happen.”

The same man also appeared to be collecting extraordinary signatures A Maine measure that would repeal laws allowing the regulated sale of marijuana to adults and home cultivation rights for adults while maintaining legal ownership and adding new testing requirements for medical cannabis.

An employee of the prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), of which the group is a member. SAM Action is largely funding anti-cannabis vote campaigns in both states, declined to comment on the petitioner’s conduct when reached by Marihuana Moment.

Campaigns have been accused of deceptive solicitation tactics before.

In Massachusetts, some voters reported the campaign used fake letters for other ballot measures on unrelated issues such as affordable housing and same-day voter registration. Supporters of legal cannabis filed a formal complaint about the tactics of the prohibitionist effortbut The State Voting Law Commission rejected the rebuttal.

The The measure faced a legal challenge from cannabis industry players he argued that it contains “irrelevant issues” and that the state attorney general’s official brief is “misleading and deficient.” State Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case challenging the anti-marijuana initiative but after all he decided against the challenge.

Read state officials the letter Regarding the certification of the anti-marijuana ballot initiative:

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Wyoming AG keeps cannabis on Schedule I, rejects federal reclassification

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July 10, 2026

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Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz announced on July 7 that he would keep all marijuana products in Schedule I of Wyoming’s Controlled Substances Act, refusing to align the state’s cannabis policy with the federal reorganization order issued earlier this year.

Kautz, who also serves as Wyoming’s drug and substance abuse commissioner, held a public hearing on June 18 after filing an objection to aligning the state’s cannabis schedule with a federal amendment on May 27. State law requires the commissioner to give interested parties an opportunity to be heard after that objection, but only nine people responded. Four email comments supported leaving cannabis as a Schedule I drug, four as Schedule III. It was approved for use and one person attended the hearing to request that cannabis remain in Schedule I.

His decision follows an April 2026 order signed by U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche that bans state-licensed medical cannabis, FDA-approved cannabis products, cannabis extracts and naturally derived delta-9 THC III.

Kautz’s office says: “After consideration of all stakeholder comments, the commissioner has determined that all marijuana products, including marijuana subject to the state’s medical marijuana license, will remain in Schedule I of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act.”

His announcement adds, “The decision to reschedule medical marijuana and marijuana products is an important policy decision that is best left to the Wyoming Legislature and should not be made through administrative rule.”

Wyoming remains one of eight states without a medical cannabis program. A December 2020 poll by the University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Center for Polling and Analysis found that 85 percent of state residents support legalizing medical cannabis, despite a failed 2024 ballot initiative effort. Possession of three ounces or less carries up to 12 months in prison under current state law, and selling any amount is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Kautz says his office will “properly schedule products approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration once that agency has approved the product,” pointing to the Schedules II and III listings of Cesamet and Dronabinol as evidence that the state complies with federal cannabinoid drug law.










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Entourage Health faces severance claims from dismissed employees

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July 9, 2026

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Entourage Health Corp., an Aylmer, Ont.-based cannabis grower, laid off 53 workers on June 8 without notice, offering only two weeks’ pay in lieu of notice rather than layoffs. More than 40 former employees have since filed complaints with Ontario’s Ministry of Labor, alleging the company violated the province’s Employment Standards Act, which entitles workers with more than five years of service at companies with payrolls of more than $2.5 million to receive 26 weeks of severance pay.

The company is owned by the pension fund of LiUNA, a major private sector union, which became Entourage’s largest lender and shareholder following a series of investments beginning in 2017. Entourage was taken private by an entity related to LiUNA in April 2025. After struggling with debt and unprofitability, the company laid off most of its leisure workers, and lost most of its bank employees to CCAA. protection at the end of June 2026. Its medical cannabis division continues to operate with 22 employees.

Court filings show Entourage owes LiUNA’s pension fund about $240 million. Efforts to sell the company generated little industry interest, leading to a bankruptcy filing. Former employees, including Benjamin Hessel and Gabriela Ayee, say they were blindsided by the sudden layoffs and worry they won’t get back the severance they were owed in the restructuring. A labor attorney noted that workers laid off in bankruptcy typically become unsecured creditors with limited recourse because secured lenders and government creditors are prioritized. The federal Wage Protection Program offers affected workers a one-time payment of up to $9,275. Neither Entourage nor the LiUNA Pension Fund responded to requests for comment.










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Wyoming Attorney General Blocks State Marijuana Rescheduling That Would Be Triggered By Trump’s Federal Reform

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July 9, 2026

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The attorney general of Wyoming has determined that the state will not reclassify marijuana under state law under a federal rescheduling From the Trump administration.

“The Wyoming Legislature has not legalized medical marijuana, adopted a state-licensed medical marijuana regulatory scheme, or agreed to recognize any other state’s medical marijuana licenses,” Attorney General Keith Kautz (R) said Tuesday. “Therefore, making marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license in Title III of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act is inconsistent with the police powers previously exercised by the Wyoming Legislature.”

“The question of whether to remove a type of marijuana from Schedule I of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act is a matter for the Wyoming Legislature and should not be done through the administrative rulemaking process,” he said.

The Legislature, however, previously enacted a law stating that “if a substance is designated, rescheduled, or eliminated as a controlled substance under federal law,” the drug and substance abuse commissioner “must control the substance under this law in the same manner as federal law” within 30 days.

Under state law, the attorney general serves as the drug and substance abuse commissioner and can formally challenge the state’s automatic rescheduling to prevent it from happening, subject to a public hearing, “giving all interested parties an opportunity to be heard.”

Kautz called a hearing in June to consider the issue, and also accepted public comments via email.

“The Commissioner received eight comments by email. Four of the comments expressed support for leaving medical marijuana and marijuana products in Schedule I of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act. Four of the comments supported leaving medical marijuana and marijuana in Schedule III of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act. All of the comments, both by email and in person, focused on the important policy considerations surrounding the legalization of marijuana and marijuana products.

According to the Attorney General, “all marijuana products currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration are already scheduled under the Federal Controlled Substances Act.” referring to prescription medications such as dronabinol, Cesamet, and Epidiolex. “The Commissioner will continue to appropriately monitor individual substances as they are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.”

“After considering all stakeholder comments, the commissioner has determined that all marijuana products, including marijuana subject to the state’s medical marijuana license, will remain in Schedule I of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act,” Kautz’s announcement reads. “This decision is final unless changed by statute.”

Under an order issued in April by US Attorney General Todd Blanche, marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license were immediately changed from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Annex, as well as marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

An an administrative hearing now underway is examining a broader rescheduling of cannabisincluding for recreational products.

In Wyoming, activists have tried unsuccessfully to put it down initiatives to legalize medical cannabis and decriminalize possession of marijuana on the ballot.

State lawmakers have also considered legislation on the issue, but Wyoming remains one of the few states without legal access to medical marijuana.

In 2022, the speaker of the Wyoming House introduced a bipartisan decriminalization bill to remove criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of cannabis and replace the state’s current felony charge with a $100 fine. But that legislation he did not receive a vote Despite the support of top GOP lawmakers.

A bill to legalize and regulate adult cannabis in Wyoming he advanced from a House committee In 2021, but at the end of that session it didn’t move anymore.

A A survey released in 2020 has been found It found that 54 percent of Wyoming residents approve of allowing adults in the state to “legally possess marijuana for personal use.”

Meanwhile, other states without comprehensive medical cannabis programs are also grappling with changes to state marijuana laws that could trigger federal redistricting action.

A The GOP senator from South Carolina, for example, said that “medical marijuana is now legal.” under a trigger law in the state.

In May, the governing bodies The Alabama Department of Public Health voted against federal rescheduling of marijuana after health officials said they need more time to determine how to implement the change at the state level.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R), on the other hand, signed the legislation this session block automatic review that could have legalized medical marijuana Under state law, after federal drug rescheduling.

user photo Carlos Gracia.

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