The campaign to repeal Massachusetts’ legal recreational marijuana market spent more than $3.7 million, exceeding the entire annual public safety budgets of 124 municipalities across the state, according to a new analysis released today by the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP).
The findings come three days after Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly rejected Question 8, with approximately 76% voting against the proposal. The measure would have eliminated the state’s regulated recreational marijuana sales system, which voters originally approved in 2016.
According to LEAP, the campaign supporting Question 8 reported more than $3.7 million in expenditures, with nearly all its funding coming from SAM Action, a Virginia-based nonprofit affiliated with Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM). As a 501(c)(4) organization, SAM Action is not required to publicly disclose its donors.
LEAP compared the campaign’s expenditures with fiscal year 2025 municipal financial data from the Massachusetts Division of Local Services. The organization found that the campaign spent more than each of 124 Massachusetts municipalities reported spending on public safety throughout the entire fiscal year.
That represents more than one-third of the 346 municipalities that submitted financial reports to the state. The communities include towns such as Monterey and Dalton, which operate their own police departments.
The municipal figures cover general fund expenditures on police, fire and other public safety services. LEAP noted that some communities receive additional public safety resources through separate funding sources, regional agreements or contracts with neighboring municipalities, meaning the figures do not necessarily represent their total public safety expenditures.
“Voters didn’t just reject Question 8 in a landslide. They rejected the idea that bringing back prohibition would make anyone safer,” said Diane Goldstein, executive director of LEAP and a retired police lieutenant.
“I spent my career enforcing these laws, and I care deeply about public safety. I also know that many communities are already stretching limited resources to support police, fire, and emergency services,” Goldstein continued.
Goldstein called the campaign’s spending “both wasteful and unpersuasive,” arguing that law enforcement resources are better directed toward serious criminal activity than renewed marijuana prohibition.
Before the election, LEAP and the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers warned that repealing the regulated marijuana market could undermine public safety by returning marijuana enforcement responsibilities to police while driving consumers toward unlicensed sellers.
The organizations also emphasized that licensed marijuana retailers must comply with product testing, age verification and other regulatory requirements that do not apply to illegal sellers. Additionally, tax revenue from regulated marijuana sales supports prevention, treatment and reentry programs.
Despite Question 8’s overwhelming defeat, SAM has characterized the election as a positive development for its broader campaign against recreational marijuana commercialization and has indicated plans to pursue similar measures in other states, including Maine.
LEAP is urging the organization to reconsider that approach, arguing that resources spent attempting to repeal legalization could instead support improvements to existing regulatory systems.
Among the priorities identified by LEAP are stronger enforcement against unlicensed marijuana sellers, improved tools for detecting impaired driving and expanded public education and prevention initiatives.
The analysis comes as Massachusetts approaches the tenth anniversary of voters approving recreational marijuana legalization. Since legal sales began in 2018, the state has developed a multibillion-dollar marijuana industry that generates hundreds of millions in annual tax revenue.
