Massachusetts is ringing in 2026 with new laws and regulations — reshaping everything from cannabis to hunting rules.

While some changes will take effect starting this year, others are still on the horizon, but each promise to touch residents’ lives.

Here’s what you can expect in 2026.

Cannabis regulations

Regulations from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) have shifted to allow cannabis lounges and other on-site pot consumption in Massachusetts.

Voters allowed such establishments when they legalized recreational cannabis in 2016, but regulations were delayed due to safety concerns and took years to develop. The CCC approved them Dec. 11, as previously reported by MassLive.

The CCC established three types of licenses: a “supplemental” license for existing cannabis businesses to add on-site consumption to their offerings, a “hospitality” license for non-cannabis businesses to host pot-friendly activities in partnership with regular cannabis businesses, and an “event organizer” license to allow temporary consumption events.

However, before any cannabis lounges can open, the CCC needs to finalize staff training requirements on responsible service and overconsumption, similar to bartender training for alcohol. Cities, towns and local boards of health and licensing authors must also opt in, often by changing zoning laws.

With these necessary community agreements and a licensing process that hasn’t started yet — despite rules taking effect on Jan. 2, 2026 — the first lounges are likely a year or more away, CCC Chair Shannon O’Brien told WBZ.

Expanded deer hunting

Beginning in 2026, regulations for deer hunting in Massachusetts will be expanded on the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, where deer populations are “overabundant,” according to Department of Fish and Game Director Tom O’Shea.

These new regulations will now allow for a six-week winter primitive firearms and bowhunting season from Jan. 1 through Feb. 14, 2026. Additionally, an early fall deer hunting season will be established from Sept. 21 through Oct. 1, 2026, for primitive firearms and archery equipment.

Public listening sessions will also be held in early 2026 to consider additional tools to manage the deer population, like a further-expanded hunting season or hunting on Sundays. Massachusetts is one of two states in the country that does not allow Sunday hunting.

The statewide goal is 12-18 deer per square mile, but MassWildlife estimates the Islands each have more than 100 deer per square mile. Authorities say the high population harms forest health, negatively impacts other wildlife species and can lead to the spread of tick-borne disease, increased deer versus vehicle collisions and coastal erosion.

Assault and battery on transit officers

A new amendment to an existing law will strengthen the penalties for assault and battery against transit workers and other public employees, especially those involving bodily fluids.

This amendment, signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey at the start of December, sentences those convicted of assaulting an on-duty transit worker to a mandatory minimum of 90 days and up to two-and-a-half years in the house of correction. It also carries a fine between $500 and $5,000.

Previously, the penalties in the law were generally lighter and did not explicitly include transit workers, nor specifically include assaults with bodily substances.

New commemorative calendar dates

Starting in 2026, two new dates will be added to calendars in Massachusetts — a Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day for military service members and veterans, and a Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day.

The Suicide Awareness Day for military service members will fall on Sept. 22, according to an act accompanying a bill signed by Gov. Maura Healey in late November.

This will be held annually to acknowledge the “epidemic” of suicides among service members and veterans, according to language in the bill, and “in recognition and in honor of fallen service members and veterans and their families.”

Additionally, June 7 will be known as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day, with legislators “recommending that the day be observed in an appropriate manner by the people.”