Marijuana Election Results 2026: What Passed, What Failed and What Changes Next

By James Buddsey · Updated November 4, 2026

Voters rejected both statewide anti-legalization measures on November 3, 2026: Massachusetts Question 8, which would have ended adult-use sales, lost by about 76% to 24%, and Idaho HJR 4, which would have let only the Legislature legalize marijuana, lost 66% to 34%. In Houston, Proposition A, which makes misdemeanor marijuana possession the police department’s lowest enforcement priority, passed with about 71% in unofficial Harris County results. Local cannabis tax and store-cap measures in Michigan, California and Oregon were ahead in early counts, and all results remain unofficial as of Wednesday morning, November 4, 2026.

This is our results follow-up to the 2026 marijuana ballot measures roundup and our operator preview, Election Day 2026: what dispensaries should watch. Every number below comes from a state or county election office where one was available, with the time of the count. Where a race has not been formally decided, we say so.

2026 Marijuana Election Results at a Glance

All results are unofficial until each state or county certifies them. Percentages are rounded from the official vote counts. As of Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

Massachusetts Question 8: Repeal Defeated

Massachusetts voters kept legal adult-use marijuana, rejecting Question 8 by roughly three to one. NBC News showed the measure “Not passed” with 75.7% no and 24.3% yes, with an estimated 84.5% of the expected vote counted as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, according to its results page. WBUR reported that the question was “rejected by voters in a landslide,” with unofficial results showing about three-quarters of voters opposed. Marijuana Moment, citing Associated Press tallies, had it at 76% to 24% with about 80% of ballots counted.

Question 8 would have repealed the laws that legalize, regulate and tax adult-use retail sales, ended legal home growing, cut the penalty-free possession amount to 1 ounce and limited the Cannabis Control Commission to medical marijuana, starting January 1, 2028, per the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s question page. None of that happens now.

The margin was in line with the polls. Every independent poll this fall showed the measure trailing by 30 points or more, as we reported in our ballot measures roundup. The official count will come from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s PD43+ election database after certification.

What stays in place: the current rules under Chapter 94G as amended by Chapter 65 of the Acts of 2026, including the 2-ounce flower limit per day at the counter and the 10.75% excise, 6.25% sales and up to 3% local taxes on adult-use purchases, with medical patients paying none of them. Our Massachusetts marijuana laws guide has the full rules.

Idaho HJR 4: Voters Keep the Initiative Route

Idaho voters rejected HJR 4, so citizens keep the power to put marijuana legalization on the ballot by initiative. With all 44 counties reporting, the Idaho Secretary of State’s unofficial results showed 459,661 no votes (66.2%) and 234,278 yes votes (33.8%), last updated at 7:30 a.m. Mountain time on November 4. Marijuana Moment and Law360 both reported the measure’s defeat.

The amendment asked whether Article III, Section 26 of the Idaho Constitution should say that “only the Idaho Legislature shall have the power and authority to legalize” marijuana, narcotics or other psychoactive substances, in the wording on the state’s results page. The Legislature had sent it to voters in March 2025 by 58-10 in the House and 29-6 in the Senate, per the Idaho Legislature’s bill page.

The defeat does not legalize anything. Marijuana remains illegal in Idaho for both medical and adult use, and the 2026 Idaho Medical Cannabis Act initiative failed to qualify for this ballot, the Idaho Capital Sun reported. What changes is the outlook: future campaigns can still try to qualify an initiative. See our Idaho marijuana laws guide for current penalties.

Houston Proposition A: Approved

Houston voters approved Proposition A, the Houston Freedom Act, by about 71% to 29% in unofficial results. The Harris County Clerk’s cumulative report, run at 5:58 a.m. on November 4, showed 411,506 votes for (71.47%) and 164,252 against (28.53%). Houston also reaches into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, but Harris County holds most of the city’s voters. Marijuana Moment reported the measure’s approval.

The charter amendment makes Class A and B misdemeanor marijuana possession the Houston Police Department’s lowest enforcement priority and bans no-knock warrants. It does not legalize marijuana: possession is still a crime under Texas law, and there are no legal dispensaries in Texas outside the limited medical program. Similar ordinances in Austin and San Marcos were blocked in court after lawsuits from the Texas attorney general, as covered in our Houston Proposition A explainer, so a legal challenge is possible.

Local Cannabis Tax and Store-Cap Results

Menominee, Michigan: 13 stores approved

Voters in the City of Menominee approved raising the cap on marijuana retail establishments from nine to 13. The Menominee County Clerk’s unofficial results (11:04 p.m., November 3, all four city precincts reporting) show 1,812 yes and 1,222 no. The ballot language, on the county’s sample ballot, provides “for no more than thirteen (13) marihuana retail establishments to be allowed within the city limits.” Michigan lets voters set those local limits under MCL 333.27956. See our Michigan marijuana laws guide.

Baldwin Park and Arroyo Grande, California: taxes ahead

Baldwin Park’s Measure CR, which applies the city’s existing 4% cannabis retailing tax rate to non-retail cannabis businesses and needs a “majority of votes cast,” led 8,245 to 2,264 in the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s election-night count, timestamped 3:11 a.m. on November 4. In Arroyo Grande, Measure C-26, a cannabis business tax of up to 10% of gross receipts, led 2,902 to 2,064 in San Luis Obispo County’s fourth update at 1:47 a.m. Neither result is final: California counts mail ballots that arrive up to seven days after Election Day if they were postmarked on or before it, under Elections Code 3020. Arroyo Grande’s Measure C-26 page notes that the tax does not itself permit storefronts and could apply to delivery into the city.

Willows, California: no count we could confirm

We could not reach Glenn County Elections’ website on Wednesday morning and found no published count for Measure K, a cannabis business tax capped at 10% of gross receipts with a 5% starting rate, set to begin January 1, 2027 if approved, the Appeal-Democrat reported. We will add the result when the county posts it.

Estacada, Oregon: supply-side ban ahead

Measure 3-638, which “prohibits new marijuana production, processing, and wholesaling businesses in Estacada,” led 1,126 to 784 in Clackamas County’s final election-night release at 11:30 p.m. on November 3. Retail is not named in the ballot title. Our Oregon marijuana laws guide covers local opt-outs.

What This Means for Dispensaries

• Massachusetts adult-use operators: the January 1, 2028 shutdown is off the table. Licenses, leases and expansion plans that were on hold for the vote can move forward under current law. Expect the debate to shift to the issues the repeal campaign raised, including the illicit market and Cannabis Control Commission oversight. Check your listing in our Massachusetts dispensary directory.
• Massachusetts medical operators: no wave of converted adult-use stores is coming into the medical market.
• Stores in Oregon, Washington and Nevada near Idaho: nothing changes today. Idaho remains fully illegal, and shoppers still cannot legally carry cannabis across the state line. The defeat of HJR 4 keeps a future Idaho initiative possible, which is a long-term question, not a 2027 one.
• Menominee-area retailers: up to four more retail licenses could open in a city that border shoppers from Wisconsin already use. Watch the city for its licensing timeline.
• California suppliers and delivery services: if Baldwin Park’s and Arroyo Grande’s leads hold, plan for higher local tax costs on non-retail operators in Baldwin Park and on cannabis business receipts in Arroyo Grande, including possibly deliveries into the city. Talk to your CPA before pricing changes.
• Houston: no sales market opens. The vote changes police priorities, not Texas law.
• Everyone: track rules in our Dispensary Business section and state-by-state cannabis laws hub. Federally, marijuana held under a state medical license is now in Schedule III while adult-use marijuana stays in Schedule I, and federal hemp limits begin November 12, 2026; see our federal cannabis laws page.

What Happens Next

• Massachusetts: because Question 8 failed, there is no effective date and no change. The question would have taken effect January 1, 2028. Certified totals will appear in the state’s PD43+ database.
• Idaho: no constitutional change. The Secretary of State’s results remain labeled unofficial until the state canvass, per the results page.
• Houston: results become official after the canvass. The charter text also requires a one-time audit of the last five years of misdemeanor marijuana enforcement, to be presented to council within 120 days, as detailed in our Prop A explainer. Watch for a state lawsuit.
• California: counties keep counting late mail ballots and must certify results within 30 days, under Elections Code 15372. If Willows’ Measure K passes, its tax starts January 1, 2027.
• Menominee and Estacada: county canvasses make the results official; the cities then apply the new limits through their own ordinances and licensing.

2026 Marijuana Election Results FAQ

Results are unofficial and as of Wednesday morning, November 4, 2026; we will update this page as counts are certified. General information, not legal advice. Talk to a cannabis attorney or CPA about your license and taxes.