Massachusetts voters could face a decision this November over whether to abolish legal cannabis sales in the commonwealth. And if they do, voters can look to an out-of-state group as a primary reason why.

A national interest group based outside Washington, D.C., donated all of the $1.55 million raised last year by the Massachusetts campaign committee seeking to ban marijuana sales and reverse the 2016 ballot initiative for legalization, according to campaign finance records released last week.

The group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, or SAM, is a leader of the anti-legalization movement and an active player in cannabis ballot initiatives in other states.

SAM has opposed legalization efforts in recent years in at least Arizona, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and Ohio.

The organization had already declared its support for the 2026 ballot initiative in Massachusetts, which would repeal the state law that legalized marijuana sales in 2016 and established regulations and taxes for recreational pot.

SAM opposed President Donald Trump’s executive order in December to push forward the federal reclassification of marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

Kevin Sabet, SAM’s president and CEO, responded by announcing “multi-million dollar support” for the ballot measure campaign in Massachusetts and a similar initiative in Maine.

“You could already feel the quality of life strain across our country, as it is,” he said, explaining his opposition to the proliferation of legal marijuana. “Walk a busy corridor in virtually every major city and the influence and the smell of marijuana is inescapable.”

While attempts to legalize marijuana have failed in some states, no state has passed a law allowing marijuana sales only to later roll it back, according to MJBizDaily, a cannabis industry publication.

While the proposed ballot measure in Massachusetts would eliminate recreational marijuana sales, it would keep the state’s medical marijuana law in place. Recreational pot shops would be able to apply for licenses to become medical dispensaries.

The petition’s backers have said they are focused on eliminating recreational cannabis sales, not on targeting members of the public for simple marijuana possession.

Opponents have said the measure would prevent marijuana from being safely regulated by returning the market to the control of illegal drug organizations.

Campaign finance records show that the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, the campaign committee backing the ballot question, spent more than 92% of the $1.55 million it received from SAM last year.

The vast majority of its spending went toward signature gathering.

The proposal is not on the November ballot just yet. Its backers gathered more than 78,000 signatures, enough to send the measure to the State Legislature for consideration. If legislators do not act on the petition by May 5, the petitioners will have two months to gather about 12,000 more signatures and land the measure on the ballot.

Opponents of the ballot question had disputed the authenticity of the signatures. In a challenge filed earlier this month, they accused signature gatherers of deceiving the public by obscuring the true purpose of the ballot measure as they sought support.

The Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation, a group opposing the ballot question, said signature gatherers told voters they were advocating for a petition that would help develop affordable housing, combat fentanyl or fund public parks.

However, the State Ballot Law Commission found Thursday that the committee had not presented sufficient evidence to back its claims.

Massachusetts voters legalized recreational cannabis through a ballot referendum in 2016, which passed with 53% of the vote.

The first pot shops opened in 2018. The industry has since vastly expanded across the state. Hundreds of cannabis businesses are in operation, logging nearly $8.9 billion in cumulative sales, including a record $1.65 billion in 2025, according to state data.