Two Steps Back: These States Could Repeal Their Legal Cannabis Markets in 2026

December 10, 2025

Remember back in 2012, when the first few states legalized recreational weed and the world felt bright and hopeful? Well, we might be entering our prohibition era now.

Now, nearly half the country has legal recreational weed and more than 79% of Americans live in a county with at least one dispensary. And the money is flowing. The market supports more than 440,000 full-time equivalent jobs and added more than $115 billion to the economy last year, according to data from Flowhub.

But anti-drug activists in Maine and Massachusetts are pushing to repeal their state’s legal cannabis markets through 2026 ballot initiatives. If their attempts are successful, the states would roll back their recreational cannabis laws, eliminating dispensaries and related operations.

Between this and the maybe-unenforceable upcoming hemp ban, the weed world is in a precarious place right now.

Officials recently gave the green light to activists wanting to collect petition signatures to roll back voter-approved adult-use cannabis legislation in Maine.

If approved, their measure, titled “An Act to Amend the Cannabis Legalization Act and the Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Act,” would still allow adults to legally possess small amounts of cannabis but eliminate recreational sales and cultivation.

Madison Carey, listed as the chief petitioner on the original version of the initiative, told Marijuana Moment that her “hope is to just bring awareness to the reality of the potential dangers of not having regulations…I think people are fed up with the constant use—the constant [retail businesses] coming up where people can now legally purchase marijuana.”

However, as the outlet points out, regulations do exist. Maine residents voted to approve a system of them in 2016. The proposed initiative would eliminate the regulatory framework and licensing system that indeed helps mitigate public health risks.

Will Maine residents go for repealing an industry that, since the start of adult-use sales, has brought in more than $500 million tax revenue? I’m inclined to say no, but stranger things have happened. The activists will need to submit their petition with at least 67,682 valid signatures by February 2, 2026 to make it on the 2026 ballot.

In a similar campaign to reverse progress, the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts is pushing the “Act to Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policy” initiative.

If approved, the initiative would allow the possession of up to an ounce of weed for adults 21 and older. It would also allow adults to give cannabis to one another as a gift, so long as there’s no money exchanged.

But there’d be no way to buy it legally without a medical card. The proposed initiatives would repeal cannabis sales and cultivation.

Wendy Wakeman, the coalition’s spokesperson, told Cannabis Business Times the group is confident that it submitted enough signatures (at least 74,574) to make it on the ballot ahead of the final count.

Even if the group filed enough valid signatures, the proposed initiative will still need to pass through a few more steps before making it on the ballot. We’ll have to wait and see.

Massachusetts residents seem to like cannabis, though. A 2021 poll found that the majority of residents believe that legalization is a positive for the state. MassINC Polling Group reported in 2024 that 65% of residents think legalization was the right decision for the state.

Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission reported surpassing $8 billion in gross sales since the adult-use industry began operations in 2018.

We can add “will multiple states reverse years of progress?” to our list of weed-related issues to watch in 2026, alongside the impending hemp ban.