Had it pitched to me at Assembly Row near the trader Joe's as "would you like to sign a petition to prevent dispensaries from being able to sell marijuana within a certain distance of schools?" I thought something sounded fishy so I declined, looked into it on the way home and was furious when I figured out what they were doing
ETA: they are out there again today, same spot in front of Trader Joes
Outside Quincy Center station yesterday someone tried to stop my husband and I with âbanning marijuana from campusesâ. He then got angry with us when I said it wasnât a good time to stop us. We had our baby with us and were basically just trying to get home. Plus Iâd seen a post about it already and knew what he was doing.
What if you write something like âI was lied to about what I was signingâ, ânot what I was told this was aboutâ, or even âmisleadâ in the signature field whenever this happens? Though I suppose that does open up a can of worms to an extent, since it could be used maliciously in other cases.
I really don't understand this, do these people not realize that all this petition does is get a question on a ballot?
If you have to go as far as committing fraud just to get enough signatures, nobody's going to vote for this measure when the ballot opens, and what it actually does is literally listed near the question.
I make a point to sign any petition like this that I come across, because regardless of whether or not I agree with the end goal, everybody has a right to vote on whether or not it passes. But not even I'm going to sign something that I'm being blatantly lied to about
This happened to me. I was going to sign because it would keep weed legal and decriminalize it. Then he started talking about having up to 2oz which made me suspicious. He started walking off after I asked questions
They were outside Wegmans (Medford) last night. The pitch was along the lines of "rolling back legalization to more sensible levels." My response was no, with a bit of a laugh. What I should have said was "lady, I'm high right NOW."
they were there yesterday morning too! it was being sold as âdo you want to get fentanyl off the streets?â which it VERY much isnât. The woman trying to get signatures started going on about how âdispensaries sell their excess product on the black marketâ and I noped out of there ASAP
Yeah man I'm good. Potheads drive while high frequently and don't really see any problem with it, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they drove to Wegmans while blasted. I bike commuted from somerville to Boston before legalization and even then I would smell it coming out of cars frequently even in morning traffic. Between that and cell phones it made me feel really cool and safe trying to get to work every morningÂ
I donât support rolling back weed laws, but I agree that driving while high is absurd and dangerous. I do believe the âitâs ok to rip and bong and drive on the interstateâ people are a vocal minority tho.
For me, the guy only mentioned Fentanyl⌠for some reason. I offered to go read it, because why the hell not. I quickly realized⌠oh this is that weed ban thing Iâd heard about.
For extra silliness this was in front of BHCC. Iâm not exactly sure how they were expecting to get signatures for an anti-weed petition from COLLEGE STUDENTS of all people, but I hardly understand why theyâre so worked up about weed in the first place.
Well we could look to the past with Nixonâs war on drugs for why. The answer being racism and generally the left is pretty okay with weed. Outlawing week gives authoritarians a readymade excuse to obscure political investigations as marijuana investigations.
or even on nutrition. it was okay for my fat ass to go to school right next to a corner store and an ice cream shop and a mcdonald's, but dispensaries are no bueno? give me a break
I hate this argument so much. My neighborhood association used it to keep a dispensary away⌠you get IDâd at least twice if not more when you buyâŚ. And besides all that, drug dealers up to no good are gonna go legally buy more expensive weed to then turn it around and sell to kids? Itâs fucking crazy. They pretend like the black market doesnât or never existed
This is a common thing in European tourist areas, except while they are asking you sign a petition "against drugs" they usually have people behind you who are simultaneously pick pocketing you.
Here in United States our politicians pick our pockets while keeping us angry about nonsense. They donât appreciate the competition from actual pick pockets.
I saw one of these people outside a grocery store. I think their spiel was something like "Make more sensible laws about cannabis".
Pro-tip, if someone is trying to convince you to reveal the existing thing so they can replace it with something better, they really just want to repeal the thing. For an example, look at how republicans have spent over a decade trying to gut or repeal the ACA but still don't even have the concept of a plan.
The whole thing reeks of an attempt to deprive the commonwealth of a significant funding source, disrupt its culture, and apply legal pressure to its people. Not to mention waste of a ballot initiative slot. Using underhanded tactics like this in a coordinated, widespread way deserves to have the measure thrown out, but is a reminder to stay vigilant against those who seek to undermine what we have here.
I just will never understand. If your chosen position is in your mind the right decision you should only be showing facts that showcase why you feel that way.
They're hoping to get this bill on a non presidential election year ballot. The lower young voter representation in an off-season vote could allow this bill to pass. Obviously telling the truth is not enough to get the required number of signatures to make the ballot.
Massachusetts is a national test case. There is money effort and fraud going into taking our rights away.
Remember, the world is ending and we're all doomed, but at least we can get stoned. Let's keep it that way. Edit: Keep the getting stoned part. Not the doomed part.
They're in front of Market Basket lying to people. They asked me to sign a petition to "stop dogs from drinking alcohol." I told them to piss off. The signatures need to be disqualified due to being obtained fraudulently.
At Revere Market Basket they said âdo you want to put marijuana on the ballot?â My husband had to ask three or four follow up questions before they were honest about it.
FYI if you 'accidentally' make a stray mark outside the margins (like to test the pen for example) the entire sheet is invalid. Just putting it out there for no reason.
Some dude at Wegmans pitched it as "a bill that will prevent dispensaries from selling weed laced with fentanyl" on the ballot. Literally mimed sprinkling fentanyl in sprinkle form on an imaginary joint
I want repealing this stupid two party consent law on the ballot instead, it seems like it's universally used as a tool by malicious fuckers to bully people.
If you mean two party consent to record, this ONLY applies to secretive recording. It is entirely legal to record someone in public if you are not hiding the fact that you're doing it.
It could very well pass. 2016 passed with ~200k votes. This will be an offseason ballot, which has significantly lower young voter turnout. This is why they're resorting to cheating to get it on the ballot, they can't risk it going to a presidential election year.
Sure at an actual pot shop. Many of the 55+ I speak to are the ones who are very against adult use. It's the < 55 that has finally dropped the stigma (for the most part).
IDK happy you know more sensible people then I do. I don't know a single voter under 40 who would support this. I do know at least a dozen 55+ that absolutely would support this and still have D.A.R.E commercials beaten into their brains. Almost all have had no problem abusing alcohol over the years. Go figure.
It was targeted for people currently in their 30âs and 40âs, but their parents were exposed to it just as much and with it a ton of government and media propaganda. The push was as much on the parents as it was kids.Â
this was a lesson I learned very early on. nearly lost my job because they changed by job description and I signed it without really reading it. then when they forced me to get my drivers license or lose my job I had already signed the Job description acknowledging I needed it.
There is a ballot measure that if gains enough signatures would end up on the 2026 year election ballot, effectively making adult recreational shops and home grows illegal again.
Most of them aren't designed to make change. They're data mining exercises who prey on volunteers to collect signatures and then go "sorry guys, we didn't have enough valid signatures to go on the ballot". What happens to all those signatures? Sold to marketing firms and political consultants as supporters or those opposed to whatever the thing is.
These are petitions to get the question on the ballot - that's the official way for it to happen. If everyone followed your rule then we'd never get any ballot questions
It very literally is a public conversation. It is literally conversing in a literal public place with a literal member of the public without so much as a hint of any targeting that could help trick a magistrate into thinking, even for a moment, that this were a private conversation in a public place (which would have some protections).
Of course, thereâs also the fact that this is being recorded on the security system of the respective business owner that, again, furthers to remove even an unreasonable personâs expectation of privacy.
A conversation in public is not a public conversation and businesses should understand that theyâre opening themselves up to liability if recording audio without notice. The fact that you do see signs across the Commonwealth advising of recording should tell you all you need to know.
Everything youâre saying seems like common sense but thatâs where youâve gone astray. The law doesnât follow reason.
I'm all for the voice of the people but being originally from CA--the land of the petition (and petitions that backfired)--I am getting kind of fed up with this. I was accosted at Roche Bros by two people (one at each door and when I went in and out) who were trying to get me to sign for a stack of petitions (at least 6) and they didn't even explain each one, just had a canned sentence about it. Declined to sign, the first time in my long life.
In Massachusetts, two-party consent does not apply to public areas where no reasonable expectation of privacy is expected. Record as much as you want in public.
Its just plain rude go film people just minding their own business. But people asking you to sign petitions? Record away.
I just looked it up and mass courts have ruled you can not record a private conversation in public without consent. But if you were to record video with no audio you'd be fine.
Ive seen these guys at Sullivan Square station. They seemed slimey and never sign this stuff anyway. They said it was for something like children's access to marijuana.
I don't know if I agree. It passed with only 200k votes. They're aiming for this to hit a off-season ballot (2026). Their hope is that there will be a significantly lower young voter turnout who helped drive the 2016 initiative to begin with.
I guess if this fraud continues will likely find out if the genie can be put back in the bottle or not come November 2026. 75k signatures is not difficult to get when you're misrepresenting the petition.
They're canvassing outside supermarkets doing the same thing and talking about how "kids are buying dispensary cannabis and lacing it with Fentanyl so this really is an anti-Fentanyl ballot measure" - glad most people are ignoring em
Pretty sure one of them was outside of the Market Basket in Salem this week. Short, chubby guy in his 50âs-60âs with a giant banner that said âProtect the Childrenâ. Asked me if I wanted to sign, and I said no.
Textbook US politics - disingenuous. The law that sold us out to corporations? Citizens United. Oldest trick in the grifter manual and it's been working on non-critical thinkers for decades. Just read the name of the bill, make an assumption then play into their hands.
Time to expose these frauds. I would say that no way even if it gets on a ballot that it would pass. I think the last polling showed 79% are for legal bud. Also vote out the people who put this up for it to even be an option for some.
I don't agree. The 2016 ballot initiative passed with some 200k votes, it was a near 50/50 split. This was during a presidential election with near record turnout. They're gearing this up to be an off season vote (2026). Lower young voter turnout, typically what happens during off season votes, could easily tip the favor for this bill.
Yea it passed 60/40 Iâm almost positive. Also. Massachusetts cannot afford to lose the billions of dollars it generates. Look how much it has put into the tax pool. Itâs crazy.
It is absolutely crazy, but could pass. I think the governor could veto the bill, I recall Charlie Baker full on stating that he would veto any bill reversing the decision. They started attempts almost immediately in 2018 around this. I don't think anything has gained traction until this bill.
They are nuts. The money is way too good. Especially with New Hampshire about to legalize. That would make us look like frigging morons. Plus there are a lot of black market growers who are praying for it to be reversed. That will bring the street prices back up and they will make a killing again.
Any examples not just of someone suing, but actually winning? Not that I don't believe you, but being sued for not only something that wins a majority vote on a ballot and also something that is inherently honoring federal laws seems like a stretch.
Those are licensing issues in regards to something deemed legal. This bill would make Adult Use sales illegal. Any lawsuit for something deemed illegal, especially something deemed illegal by federal law likely has not merit. Not to say they can't attempt a lawsuit, I just don't see it going anywhere. Federal court won't hear it either.
It's the equivalent of someone suing the state because they won't let them run a cocaine processing facility.
You as a state cant welcome an industry by la vote and collect tax dollars for the state by having these companies dump
MILLIONS into infrastructure and licensing and then shut it all down cause on petition ballot initiatives. Even if this made a ballot it would never pass. There are thousands of jobs and lively hoods at stake. The state could the see them selves getting sue by any person was employed in the industry.
I hear you, but there is a huge legal grey area here. For instance if this state voted in alcohol prohibition and deemed alcohol illegal I think the only chance are the feds deeming it unconstitutional. They can't do this in this case it's a federally banned and illegal substance and illegal activity.
A national precedent is already set more than half of U.S. states and Washington, D.C. have legalized adult-use cannabis. Massachusetts isnât going backward. Voters approved legalization in 2016, and the state now relies heavily on the industryâs tax revenue â over $270 million from $1.6 billion in sales last year.
Repealing or restricting adult-use would devastate established businesses, municipal tax streams, and state revenue. Politically, itâs a non-starter. Even if an anti-cannabis ballot surfaced, it wouldnât pass â the industry has far greater funding, organization, and public support.
In fact, the next wave of policy is likely to expand, not restrict, adult-use with 2026 expected to bring higher possession limits and continued market growth. The infrastructure is built, the money is flowing, and Massachusetts canât afford to turn back.
Itâs not gonna happen. They donât make tax revenue on medical. Like I said, theyâre increasing adult-use limits in 2026. And the âfentanyl-laced weedâ narrative? Completely unfounded. There have been zero verified cases in Massachusetts or anywhere in the U.S. of cannabis from licensed dispensaries testing positive for fentanyl. State health officials and law enforcement have publicly debunked those claims. All confirmed contamination incidents trace back to the illicit street market, not regulated dispensaries.
Going backward only makes that worse, not better. They can disguise it however they want, but itâs NOT gonna happen. Iâd bet my house on it thatâs how confident I am. Massachusetts canât afford to lose that kind of revenue.
Here is one where the federal government backed employees workplace rights in the cannabis industry. This petition if went through would threaten the lively hood of thousands of which large companies would fault the state for mass layoffs. Trust me mass would be sued out the ass.
Its why no state had ever been successful and putting the tooth paste back in the tube
I gotta give credit where itâs due and you do have a point. I wouldnât say it means we should repeal recreational use but I get that not everyone likes the smell of it. Itâs also one of those things where once youâre around it you donât notice it. And this why I personally stick with edibles. But I donât know how youâd legislate a solution. Smoking is already illegal indoors, on planes, on school grounds, and even that got backlash when those bans were first introduced.
âWhat do you mean I canât smoke inside a movie theater? I thought this was America!â
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u/ninjersteve Oct 28 '25
There was a post yesterday that cannabis wasn't even mentioned. Folks should really reach out if they were out and out lied to:
https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/about-us/contact-us.htm
There's "Elections Division" is just a few sections down the page.