Top Massachusetts Marijuana Regulator Says Ballot Measures To Recriminalize Sales Would Imperil Tax Funds For Drug Treatment

The head of Massachusetts’s marijuana regulatory agency has suggested that
a pair of proposed ballot initiatives to effectively recriminalize
recreational cannabis sales could imperil tax revenue that’s being used to
support substance misuse treatment efforts and other public programs.

Travis Ahern, executive director of the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC),
said in a recent interview with Talking Joints Memo that while the agency
doesn’t generally “advocate for or against the policy specifically as it
relates to a ballot question,” the state’s marijuana law that would be
upended by the proposals has meaningfully contributed to valuable social
services.

A budget report that included a review of the commonwealth’s cannabis
industry demonstrated “the good that has come out of the funds—the revenue
received through cannabis, the success of cannabis taking over cranberries
as the number one cash crop, and tax revenue over alcohol,” he said, noting
that a portion of those funds have supported agencies that “deal with
substance abuse.”

“It’s funding programming at a bunch of different state agencies, which is
all great. I think it answers a lot of people who may be looking at the
future ballot question on should we recriminalize and saying, ‘Well, the
good that’s coming out of cannabis revenue.’ It’s probably not something
people want to give up.”

“I think ultimately I’m happy that we have other things that can lead the
way, where we may have to kind of remain silent. So that’s kind of where we
are for the most part,” Ahern said of the proposed ballot measure. “At the
same point, from where I’m standing as somebody who voted to legalize, to
me, this is the number one guiding light.”

“I have nothing against folks who like alcohol. I personally gave up
alcohol at one point in my life just because it was better for me. But I
cannot justify, as a public policy initiative, how alcohol can be legal and
adult-use cannabis cannot be,” he said. “It just does not logically track.
And I believe that the people of Massachusetts agree with that.”

Executive Director Travis Ahern sat down with @TalkingJoints recently for
an "Issue By Issue Check-In" reflecting on the first six months of his
tenure at the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission:
https://t.co/Qk3uQomftc

— Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (@MA_Cannabis) October 10, 2025

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbel (D) certified the pair of
ballot measure to recriminalize marijuana last month.

The two measures, which would eliminate the commercial adult-use market
while maintaining patient access under the medical cannabis program and
continuing to allow lawful possession of up to an ounce of recreational
marijuana, are being spearheaded by Caroline Cunningham, who previously
fought against a psychedelics legalization ballot initiative that voters
ultimately rejected last year.

Under the new measures—titled “An Act to Restore A Sensible Marijuana
Policy”—adults 21 and older could still possess up to an ounce of cannabis,
only five grams of which could be a marijuana concentrate product.

Possession of more than one ounce but less than two ounces would be
effectively decriminalized, with violators subject to a $100 fine. Adults
could also continue to gift cannabis between each other without
remuneration.

But provisions in the state’s voter-approved marijuana law that allow for
commercial cannabis retailers and access to regulated products by adults
would be repealed under the proposal.

Adults’ right to cultivate cannabis at home would also be repealed.

There are two versions of the initiative. They’re largely identical—except
that one would set THC potency limits on medical marijuana, requiring the
Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) to prohibit flower in excess of 30
percent THC and concentrates over 60 percent THC or that have more than 5mg
THC per metered serving. There would also be a ban on cannabis concentrates
that “fail to clearly provide metered, or otherwise measured, standard
delivered servings” of 5 mg THC and on packages of concentrate that exceed
20 metered or measured servings.

In addition to certifying that the measures are consistent with
constitutional requirements for ballot placement, the attorney general’s
office last month also prepared summaries for the proposals.

*The summary for the first version of the marijuana initiative reads:*

“The proposed law would change the type and amount of marijuana that may
legally be possessed in Massachusetts by repealing the laws that legalize,
regulate, and tax the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana in
Massachusetts. The proposed law would also permit persons 21 years of age
and older to possess 1 ounce or less of marijuana including no more than 5
grams in the form of concentrate, and to gift or transfer to another person
21 years of age and older 1 ounce or less of marijuana including no more
than 5 grams in the form of concentrate. The proposed law would also impose
a civil penalty of $100 and forfeiture of the marijuana for the possession
of marijuana between the weight of 1 and 2 ounces.

For persons 21 years of age and younger, the proposed law would make the
possession of 2 ounces or less of marijuana a civil infraction subject to a
$100 fine, forfeiture of the marijuana, completion of a drug awareness
program and community service, and notification to their parents or legal
guardian of the offense and penalties.

The proposed law would impose new potency limitations on medical marijuana
products that may legally be sold in Massachusetts, prohibiting: marijuana
flower with potency in excess of 30% tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”);
marijuana concentrates intended for inhalation following vaporization or
combustion that exceed 5 mg of THC per metered serving, or with potency
exceeding 60%; concentrated forms of medical use marijuana products that
fail to clearly provide metered, or otherwise measured, standard delivered
servings of 5 mg of THC; and packages of marijuana concentrate that exceed
20 metered or measured servings of 5 mg of THC.

The proposed law would allow currently licensed adult recreational
marijuana businesses to apply on an expedited basis to become a licensed
medical marijuana dispensary and to sell their remaining inventory of adult
recreational marijuana to medical marijuana dispensaries. The proposed law
would retain the Cannabis Control Commission but modify its authority so it
would regulate only the medical marijuana market.

The proposed law states that, if any of its parts were declared invalid,
the other parts would stay in effect.

The proposed law would take effect on January 1, 2028.”

The second version’s summary is identical but excludes the paragraph on
potency limits.

In order for either measure to potentially appear on the November 2026
ballot, proponents will need to first turn in 74,574 valid signatures from
registered voters by December 3. If enough of the submissions are valid,
the proposal would then go before the legislature, with lawmakers having
until May 6 to enact it into law or propose a substitute. If they do not,
organizers would then need to collect 12,429 additional valid voter
signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

Whether the cannabis measures make the cut is yet to be seen. Voters
approved legalization at the ballot in 2016, with sales launching two years
later. And the past decade has seen the market evolve and expand. As of
June, Massachusetts officials reported more than $8 billion in adult-use
marijuana sales.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

Regulators are also working to finalize rules to allow for a new cannabis
consumption lounge license type, which they hope to complete by October.

Separately, in May CCC launched an online platform aimed at helping people
find jobs, workplace training and networking opportunities in the state’s
legal cannabis industry.

The legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy last month approved
bills to provide employment protections for marijuana consumers and expand
the state’s medical cannabis program, in part by adding post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) and opioid use disorder to the list of qualifying
conditions.

State lawmakers have also been considering setting tighter restrictions on
intoxicating hemp-derived products and a plan to allow individual entities
to control a larger number of cannabis establishments.

Also in Massachusetts, legislators who were working on a state budget
butted heads with CCC officials, who’ve said they can’t make critical
technology improvements without more money from the legislature.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts lawmakers recently approved a bill to establish a
pilot program for the regulated therapeutic use of psychedelics. And two
committees have separately held hearings to discuss additional
psilocybin-related measures.

*Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.*

The post Top Massachusetts Marijuana Regulator Says Ballot Measures To
Recriminalize Sales Would Imperil Tax Funds For Drug Treatment appeared
first on Marijuana Moment.