Nov. 3: Gov. Maura Healey and Republican challenger Mike Minogue both oppose Massachusetts' Question 8 marijuana sales repeal

Both major-party candidates for Massachusetts governor say they oppose Question 8, the Nov. 3 ballot measure that would repeal the laws allowing regulated retail sales of adult-use marijuana in the state. Democratic Gov. Maura Healey and her Republican challenger, Mike Minogue, gave their positions in "@Issue" sit-down interviews with NBC10 Boston, published Oct. 26, in which each candidate was asked how they planned to approach the nine questions on this year's ballot.

"No, the cannabis industry is important," Healey said when asked about Question 8, according to NBC10 Boston.

"I am not in favor of repealing it," Minogue said, the station reported. NBC10 Boston summed up the exchange this way: both candidates "are saying 'no' to repealing the law."

A rare point of agreement

The Marijuana Herald called Question 8 a rare point of agreement between the two candidates. Healey's position is not new. Earlier this month she said, "We've got to keep recreational marijuana here in Massachusetts. It's an important industry, the cannabis industry. And I hope the voters keep cannabis," Marijuana Moment reported. The Marijuana Herald said Minogue's statement adds the Republican nominee to the list of prominent political figures publicly opposing the repeal.

The two candidates split on several other questions in the same interviews, NBC10 Boston reported. Healey said she plans to vote to keep the state's current gun law in place, while Minogue signaled he would vote to repeal it. Healey called herself a "strong yes" on Question 6, which would create a Nature for All Fund tied to state taxes on sales of sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf courses, while Minogue said he was against it. Both said they support the question that would make most records held by the Legislature and the governor's office subject to the state's public records law.

What Question 8 would do

According to the official summary in the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 information for voters, Question 8 would repeal the laws that legalize, regulate and tax retail sales of adult-use marijuana. Adults 21 and older could still possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, including no more than 5 grams of concentrate, and could give up to that amount to another adult. Possessing more than 1 ounce and up to 2 ounces would bring a $100 civil penalty and forfeiture of the marijuana. Marijuana Moment reported that the measure would also repeal the laws allowing home cultivation, while keeping the medical marijuana system in place.

Under the summary, existing adult-use businesses could apply on an expedited basis to become medical marijuana dispensaries and could sell their remaining adult-use inventory to medical dispensaries. The Cannabis Control Commission would remain, but would regulate only the medical market. If approved, the changes would take effect Jan. 1, 2028, the Secretary of the Commonwealth's summary and The Marijuana Herald both say. A "no" vote would leave the state's existing marijuana laws unchanged, the Herald noted.

The state's fiscal statement says adult-use sales raised about $280 million in state tax revenue and about $50 million in local revenue in fiscal year 2025, and that repeal would reduce those receipts.

What the polls show

A University of Massachusetts Amherst and WCVB-TV poll of 852 registered voters, taken Oct. 5 to 12 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points, found 31 percent support for Question 8, including 16 percent who said they would definitely vote yes and 15 percent who said they would probably vote yes, Marijuana Moment reported. Forty-seven percent said they would definitely vote no and 14 percent said they would probably vote no. The measure had less support than any of the other eight questions in that poll.

"Supporters of repealing legal marijuana sales face a steep uphill climb," said Raymond La Raja, a professor of political science at UMass Amherst and co-director of the poll, according to Marijuana Moment. He said support for repeal was strongest among Republicans, at 44 percent, and conservatives, at 46 percent, but fell short of a majority in every major group surveyed.

A Suffolk University and Boston Globe poll of 500 general election voters, taken Oct. 14 to 17 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 points, found 71.4 percent of likely voters opposed Question 8 and 21.4 percent supported it, according to Marijuana Moment and The Marijuana Herald. Among Republicans in that survey, 46 percent supported the repeal and 44 percent opposed it, the Herald said, while 80 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of independent and unenrolled voters opposed it.

Earlier polls pointed the same way. A CommonWealth Beacon and MassINC Polling Group survey released in September found 61 percent of likely voters opposed and 27 percent in favor, and a University of New Hampshire poll the same month found 71 percent planned to vote no and 24 percent yes, Marijuana Moment reported.

Who else has taken a side

More than 50 state lawmakers, including the House speaker and the Senate president, said last week they will vote against Question 8, according to Marijuana Moment. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey also told the outlet they will vote no.

"We could make improvements in the operations but legalizing cannabis is better than continuing an unregulated, underground market," Warren said, according to Marijuana Moment. Rep. Ayanna Pressley has also urged voters to reject the measure, saying "keeping marijuana legal in Massachusetts is both economic justice and racial justice policy," the outlet reported.

Supporters of Question 8 argue that ending commercial recreational sales would address public health and safety concerns tied to legalization, The Marijuana Herald reported. In the official voter guide, supporters argue that marijuana is now the most common drug found in fatal car crashes in Massachusetts and that taxpayers spend $4.50 dealing with the effects of legalization for every $1 in tax revenue. Opponents argue in the guide that repeal would push marijuana back to the illicit market without testing or labeling safeguards and shut down small businesses.

The money behind the campaign

The only registered committee supporting Question 8, the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, reported about $3.78 million in receipts through Oct. 15, and $3.73 million of that, about 98.6 percent, came from SAM Action Inc. of Alexandria, Va., according to the committee's filings with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. SAM Action is the political arm of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group, the Fall River Reporter has reported. The largest committee opposing the measure, the Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation, runs the "No on 8: Stop the Repeal" campaign and its biggest contributors are cannabis businesses, according to the Fall River Reporter.

What's next

Election Day is Nov. 3, and early voting is underway. If Question 8 passes, Massachusetts would become the first state to repeal legal recreational sales, a decade after voters approved them with about 54 percent of the vote, the Fall River Reporter noted.

Whichever candidate wins the governor's race, both have now said publicly that they oppose repealing the state's legal sales system, The Marijuana Herald reported.

This report summarizes public statements, polling and news coverage. It is not legal advice.