Deceptive tactics alleged in campaign to end Massachusetts cannabis legalization

The ballot initiative campaign seeking to end Massachusetts’ $1.6 billion annual legal cannabis industry says it’s not affiliated with the signature gatherers accused of using misleading and deceptive behavior to fool voters into signing petitions.

But there would be little anyone could do even if it were, because such “bait-and-switch” tactics involving false or misleading information are constitutionally protected free speech activities, elections experts say.

If it qualifies for the 2026 state ballot and is approved by a simple majority of voters, the Act to Restore Sensible Marijuana Policy would outlaw adult-use cannabis sales in Massachusetts. Medical cannabis would remain legal.

To qualify for the ballot, the campaign has until Dec. 3 to collect 75,000 valid signatures from state voters, but organizers say they plan to collect at least 100,000.

To do this, some signature-gatherers are resorting to deception, according to several accounts, such as insisting the cannabis recriminalization campaign does something else, like “take fentanyl off our streets.”

That’s what Josh Wallis, a Boston-area tattoo artist, heard from a signature gatherer outside a Medford, Massachusetts, supermarket on Oct. 27, he told MJBizDaily.

Incensed, Wallis later filed complaints with local law enforcement as well as the state Election Division.

But as the latter told him, “signature gathering on petitions is a protected free speech activity subject only to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.”

Campaign to make marijuana illegal again distances itself

MJBizDaily shared details of Wallis’ experience and similar reports with Wendy Wakeman, a Republican Party strategist active in Massachusetts state politics and the spokesperson for the anti-legalization campaign.

In an interview Thursday, Wakeman acknowledged the campaign is using paid signature gatherers.

However, she claimed that the signature gatherers, such as the ones Wallis described and seen in photos in Reddit posts alleging deceptive behavior, are volunteers and not affiliated with the campaign.

“The committee does not support misrepresenting the petition in any way at all,” she told MJBizDaily.

“People are trained in what the petition is asking, and the training does not including hyperbolic bloviating.”

“We are comfortable that it’s enough to say we’d like to roll back recreational marijuana, which is what the petition does,” she added. “We believe there are enough people in Massachusetts willing to sign such a petition.”

As for Wallis’ account, “His experience is troubling, and nothing that would be encouraged or sanctioned by the committee,” Wakeman said.

‘Deceptive’ campaign tactics are legal

While unscrupulous or distasteful, such tactics are not uncommon, observers said, and have been seen across the country in ballot initiative campaigns.

Allegations of misleading or intentionally deceptive campaign language dogged dueling ballot questions around abortion rights in Nebraska last year.

But in most cases, they are legal.

In Massachusetts specifically, a 2015 state Supreme Court case struck down a portion of law that made it a crime to make false statements about a candidate for public office.

Cannabis appears popular in Massachusetts, where 56% of voters approved adult-use legalization in 2016.

Support has only grown since then, polling suggests. A 2024 MassInc survey of registered voters found 65% in support of legalization.

“Across states, we’ve seen bad actors attempt to confuse voters — to get them to sign petitions or vote a certain way,” said Emma Sharkey, a partner at the Washington, D.C.-based Elias Law Group, which routinely litigates elections-law cases.

“In my view, these actors engage in these deceptive tactics because they know they cannot win on the policy.”

Who is paying for the marijuana recriminalization campaign?

But the episode raises other, more significant questions, observers told MJBizDaily.

The central question: Who’s paying for all of this?

Paid signature gatherers are not cheap. According to Ballotpedia, the average “cost per required signature” in the 2022 midterm elections was nearly $13.

The Massachusetts recriminalization campaign needs 74,574 valid signatures to advance toward the 2026 November ballot.

Because signatures can be disqualified, successful campaigns generally submit significantly more than the minimum required.

That adds up to a signature-gathering campaign that could cost millions.

In her MJBizDaily interview, Wakeman declined to identify any sources of campaign cash or organizations that might be assisting with the signature gathering campaign.

And that information isn’t yet available via campaign finance disclosure forms, which aren’t due for 2025 activity until January.

Cannabis business advocates allege fraud

Later communications, such as campaign ads or other materials meant to sway voters once the recriminalization effort qualifies for the ballot, will be held to a higher standard, Wakeman said.

But no matter who is responsible, the alleged misdirection could become a liability for the campaign.

Voters who believe they mistakenly signed a petition can inform local authorities, who may then declare the signatures invalid.

 “This is voter fraud that people should report to their local town hall,” said David O’Brien, president and CEO of the  Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association.

And Wakeman and the campaign need to do more to halt the activity, he added.

“Whether they’re paid or volunteer, she has the responsibility to tell them, publicly, to stop lying to voters.”

Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.