AMESBURY — With the state election just around the corner and a question on the ballot that would repeal laws that allow recreational marijuana to be sold, local dispensaries are urging residents to vote against Question 8.
Question 8 on the Nov. 3 ballot was proposed by an initiative petition and would, if approved, repeal the laws that “legalize, regulate, and tax the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana” among other things, according to the state.
If passed, the law would take effect in January 2028, much to the distress of employees and leadership at local dispensaries, some of whom have urged Massachusetts residents to vote no on the question.
One person who has advocated nonstop against the ballot question is Scott Winters, director of business development and community outreach at CNA Stores, a company with a cultivation facility in Amesbury and dispensaries in Amesbury and Haverhill.
To persuade people to vote no, Winters said he has done a variety of networking, including connecting with local politicians and inviting them to tour CNA Stores’ facilities, with state Sen. Barry Finegold and Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett set to do so soon.
“I’ve been doing a lot of community outreach, meeting with the parties, whether that’s the Democratic committees in the towns, sitting down, meeting with them, talking with candidates, even outside my district,” Winters said.
Winters also said he has been working to get the message out to members of the general public, whether that be through informational materials, billboards or other methods.
“We’ve had education in the stores for months, our staff is educated. We’re posting about it, and we have billboards that we just put up from about Methuen to Danvers, digital billboards. And we’re being very conscious of when the traffic hits and all those other things,” he said.
On top of those efforts, Winters said he plans to talk to the senior community about the ballot question in the weeks to come.
“I’ve got a bunch of senior center visits that I’m doing just prior to when early voting starts. So, at the tail end of this month, the beginning of October, I’ll be at the Haverhill Senior Center, Newburyport, Salisbury and I believe Amesbury as well,” he said.
Joint Operations, a dispensary in Rowley with locations in Worcester, Mendon and Gardner, is providing informational materials in its store.
Kerianne Pendleton, inventory manager at the Rowley location, said the dispensary has pamphlets it is providing to customers that contain information about the ballot question and a sign in front of the store that reads “NO on Question 8”.
“It just says ‘No on 8’, ‘Keep marijuana legal’, ‘Protect regulated recreational marijuana in Massachusetts’. We also have the Massachusetts information for voters, the ballot questions here as well if anybody wants to look at that,” she said of the pamphlet.
Pendleton said if customers initiate discussions about the ballot question, staff members will often speak about how the question being approved would negatively affect them. She emphasized that it would be harmful to all employees at the dispensary.
“One hundred percent,” she said. “Everyone in this building would agree.”
Now, with the election a little over a month away, the fight will continue, and Winters said he plans to continue to advocate for a no vote on Question 8 and keep up his community outreach.
“I won’t rest until Nov. 4,” he said.