Key Takeaways
- A recent UMass Amherst/WCVB poll shows 61% of Massachusetts voters oppose repealing adult-use cannabis sales through Massachusetts Question 8, indicating strong resistance to repeal.
- Voter support is shifting against repeal: in August, 55% opposed it, while in October, that number rose to 61%.
- Polling data reveals a coalition against repeal, including state legislators and editorial boards, suggesting widespread public sentiment to maintain legal cannabis sales.
- If Massachusetts Question 8 passes, it would eliminate the retail cannabis market, impacting jobs, state revenue, and consumer access.
- Despite the significant polling gap, final outcomes depend on actual voter turnout and how undecided voters may influence the results.
Massachusetts voters appear increasingly unwilling to undo a decade of legal cannabis sales. The latest UMass Amherst/WCVB poll, fielded October 5-12, found that 61% of registered voters would vote no on Question 8, the ballot measure that would repeal the state’s adult-use cannabis sales law. Support for repeal sits at 31%, with 8% undecided or unsure of the question.
That’s a meaningful move from the same pollster’s August survey, which had opposition at 55% and support at 33%. Both figures point the same direction: toward keeping the Massachusetts cannabis market intact.
What Does the October Poll Actually Say About Question 8?
According to UMass Amherst, 47% of respondents said they would definitely vote no on repeal, while only 16% said they would definitely vote yes. Another 15% leaned toward yes and 14% leaned toward no.
Raymond La Raja, professor of political science and co-director of the UMass Poll, put it plainly: “Supporters of repealing legal marijuana sales face a steep uphill climb. A decade after legalization, Massachusetts voters show little appetite for going back.” He added that support for repeal is strongest among Republicans (44%) and conservatives (46%), but “it falls well short of a majority in every major group we surveyed, including voters who don’t use marijuana (41%).”
That last point is important. This isn’t just cannabis users protecting their own interests. Even people who don’t touch the plant aren’t convinced prohibition should return. The poll surveyed 800 registered voters, matched down from 852 interviewed by YouGov, with a stated margin of error of 4.2%.
It’s worth noting that a separate poll from MassINC Polling Group, conducted in September among likely voters, found nearly identical results: 61% no, 27% yes. Two different polling firms, two different voter samples, and the same conclusion.
Why Is Opposition to the Massachusetts Cannabis Repeal Growing?
Massachusetts legalized recreational marijuana in 2016, and the market has had ten years to prove itself. Voters seem to like what they’ve seen. In the August UMass poll, 54% described legalization as a positive development for the state, compared to just 22% who called it negative.
Pollster Steve Koczela of MassINC offered a theory that applies well here: on ballot questions, undecided voters tend to break toward the status quo. “People don’t want to go backwards,” he said, referring to both the cannabis question and a separate gun law question on the same ballot.
There’s also a trust gap working against the repeal campaign. Nearly all of the $3.5 million raised in support of Question 8 through the end of September came from SAM Action, the political arm of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, according to MJBizDaily. That’s a national prohibition-focused group, not a grassroots Massachusetts effort, and voters may be picking up on that.
Opposition to Question 8 also draws from an unusually broad coalition. Reports show that 62 state legislators have come out against the measure, including House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka. Governor Maura Healey opposes repeal as well. The Boston Globe editorial board weighed in on October 20, urging a no vote to keep legal sales in place. Worcester’s city council is even considering its own resolution against the measure, per reporting from This Week in Worcester.
When elected officials across party lines, editorial boards, and two separate independent polls all point the same direction, it adds up to more than noise. It looks like a settled public mood, even if the campaign itself is far from over.
What Would Actually Happen If Question 8 Passed?
A yes vote on Question 8 would repeal the laws permitting retail sale, taxation, and regulation of recreational cannabis in Massachusetts. Home cultivation rights for adult use would also go away.
Medical marijuana would not be touched. Patients enrolled in the state’s medical program would keep full access regardless of the outcome.
Adults 21 and older would still be allowed to possess up to one ounce of marijuana without criminal penalty under the repeal scenario, with civil penalties applying above that amount, according to earlier coverage of the earlier August poll. What disappears is the regulated retail market itself: every licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary in the state would be forced to close its recreational side of the business.
That’s not a small thing. The annual value of the Massachusetts cannabis industry at $1.65 billion. A repeal wouldn’t just affect operators. It would eliminate jobs, state tax revenue, and consumer access built up over a decade, and it would hand prohibition advocates a template they could try to replicate in other legal states.
How Reliable Is a 30-Point Polling Gap With Two Weeks To Go?
A 30-point margin (61% versus 31%) is a large gap to close in two weeks, but it’s fair to ask how much confidence that number deserves.
The UMass poll carries a margin of error of 4.2%, meaning the true opposition number could reasonably sit somewhere between roughly 57% and 65%.
There are real differences in how pollsters reached their numbers, too. UMass surveyed registered voters using an online panel matched and weighted to Census data, while MassINC’s September poll surveyed likely voters through a separate methodology. Different definitions of “voter,” different field dates, and yet both landed on 61% opposed. That consistency across methods is arguably more persuasive than either poll on its own.
Still, a poll is a snapshot, not a forecast. The 8% who remain undecided, plus the share who say they don’t fully understand the ballot question (3%), could shift the final outcome. Ballot question wording is a known sticking point. According to UMass’s own data, 64% of voters say the wording of ballot questions in general is too complicated, and turnout patterns in an off-year election can behave unpredictably.
The August-to-October shift of six points in opposition is real, but it’s also only modestly larger than the poll’s own margin of error, so it should be read as a trend rather than a locked outcome.
Why This Matters for Massachusetts Cannabis Businesses
For licensed adult-use cannabis businesses in Massachusetts, this poll is useful information, not a guarantee. Opposition to repeal has grown, support has softened, and the coalition against Question 8 spans both parties and the state’s two top legislative leaders. That’s a strong position heading into November 3.
But ballot questions are decided by the voters who actually show up, not by registered voters who answer a phone or online survey weeks beforehand. Operators should treat this poll as one data point among several, alongside the September MassINC survey, in thinking through contingency planning.
That means understanding what operational changes repeal would require, communicating clearly with employees and customers about what’s at stake, and staying engaged with trade groups and the No on 8 campaign as Election Day approaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 8 is a ballot measure that would repeal the laws legalizing, regulating, and taxing retail adult-use cannabis sales in Massachusetts. It would not affect the state’s medical marijuana program.
The October 2026 UMass Amherst/WCVB poll found 61% of registered voters opposed to repealing adult-use cannabis sales, versus 31% in support and 8% undecided, among 800 registered voters with a 4.2% margin of error.
Yes. UMass Amherst’s August 2026 poll showed 55% opposed and 33% in favor of repeal. By October, opposition rose to 61% and support dropped to 31%, suggesting momentum is moving against repeal.
Nearly all of the $3.5 million raised in support of Question 8 through September came from SAM Action, the political arm of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a national group that opposes cannabis legalization.
Massachusetts voters decide Question 8, along with eight other ballot questions, on Election Day, November 3, 2026. The outcome depends on actual voter turnout rather than pre-election polling.
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