A new poll shows Massachusetts’ first-in-the-nation effort to repeal recreational marijuana legalization is essentially a dead heat — far closer than the cannabis industry has been letting on.
The survey, conducted by Polity Research Consulting for the Retailers Association of Massachusetts (N=608 registered voters, April 29–May 7, margin of error ±4 points), found 41% of voters inclined to vote “Yes” to repeal recreational marijuana sales and home cultivation, 48% inclined to vote “No,” and 11% undecided. The 7-point gap sits within the poll’s margin of error for the difference between the two sides — a statistical tie, with a large bloc of persuadable voters still up for grabs. The measure would keep personal possession of up to an ounce legal.
The numbers undercut the industry’s public confidence. As the Boston Globe reported June 26, cannabis operators who once dismissed the repeal as unlikely to pass have now launched a “Stop the Repeal” campaign and are urging businesses to take the threat seriously. An earlier University of New Hampshire poll had suggested a blowout, with 63% opposed — but that survey asked voters about their positions, not how they would actually vote. The ballot-modeled Retailers Association poll tells a very different story.
If it passes in November, Massachusetts would become the first state to reverse marijuana legalization.
“I don’t think people voted for a pot shop on every corner,” SAM president Kevin Sabet told the Globe. “We’re finally having some buyer’s remorse.”
With months to go and 11% undecided, this one is wide open.