Proponents of Question 8 in Massachusetts, the ballot initiative which seeks to repeal key elements of the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law, have a popularity problem. Most voters favor regulating cannabis businesses and they don’t want to see the legalization repealed.
As a result, Question 8’s backers are increasingly engaging in fear-mongering and obfuscation to try to turn the tide.
For instance, campaign backers recently told NPR that Question 8 doesn’t repeal adults’ legal right to grow limited quantities of cannabis at home. But that isn’t true. The ballot measure explicitly states that it "repeals Chapters 94G and 64N of the General Laws which govern the possession, use, distribution, cultivation, and taxation of marijuana not medically prescribed.”
Proponents further claim that Question 8 is necessary because Massachusetts’ existing market lacks sufficient regulations or controls. In fact, operators in the cannabis market are heavily regulated, even more so than alcohol retailers. In addition, a ‘yes’ vote on Question 8 doesn’t tighten market regulations or provide new ones; rather, it eliminates the existing rules altogether.
Proponents also purport that legalization in Massachusetts has adversely impacted teen use. This is categorically false. Following legalization in Massachusetts, youth marijuana use has fallen some 50 percent statewide. Rates of school disciplinary incidents involving cannabis have also declined significantly. That’s because regulated markets, with state-imposed rules, age limits, and controls, do a far greater job keeping marijuana out of the hands of young people than does prohibition.
Representatives from the Question 8 campaign have even argued that legalization has hurt Massachusetts’ economy. Facts say otherwise. Tax revenue from regulated cannabis sales has yielded over $1.5 billion dollars and the licensed industry currently employs nearly 18,000 workers.
Predictably, proponents’ scare tactics and half-truths are increasingly drawing skepticism. Notably, a recent article published by The Berkshire Edge admitted that proponents’ claims that the state lacked regulations governing THC potency were inaccurate. When the paper pressed backers to provide sources verifying the campaign talking points, they never received a response.
That’s likely because the campaign’s arguments fall apart under scrutiny. Prohibitionists have long warned that legalizing the adult-use marijuana market will cause the sky to fall. But America’s real-world experience with legalization has proven these fears to be unfounded.
Here’s some facts the backers of the Question 8 won’t tell you. Legal cannabis markets nationwide have created over 400,000 jobs and raised more than $28 billion in new tax revenue. In every state that has legalized, fewer young people are using marijuana today than were prior to legalization. And most importantly, hundreds of thousands of Americans are no longer having their lives disrupted from low-level marijuana arrests.
These successes are why some two-thirds of Americans support legalization and why no state has ever repealed its marijuana legalization laws. Despite prohibitionists’ ever-growing reliance upon dubious tactics and sensational rhetoric, Massachusetts won’t be the first to do so. This Election Day, voters will soundly defeat Question 8 and they will keep the adult-use cannabis marketplace, and the controls that come with it, intact.
Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
