Massachusetts voters approved medical marijuana on November 6, 2012, when 63% voted yes on Question 3, the ballot measure that allowed registered patients a 60-day supply and up to 35 nonprofit dispensaries. The law took effect January 1, 2013, but a troubled licensing process meant the first dispensary did not open until June 24, 2015, in Salem.
What Happened
Question 3, formally “An Act for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana,” passed with about 63% of the vote, CBS News reported. The text of the law is Chapter 369 of the Acts of 2012. The law removed state penalties for patients with a doctor’s certification and a state registration card who possessed up to a 60-day supply. It named conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, and let doctors certify other conditions in writing.
It capped nonprofit “medical marijuana treatment centers” at 35 statewide in the first year, with at least one and no more than five per county, and gave the Department of Public Health (DPH) until May 1, 2013, to write the rules. Patients who could not reach a dispensary could apply for a hardship license to grow at home. The Massachusetts Medical Society opposed the measure, arguing that safety and effectiveness had not been proven.
Background
Medical marijuana bills had been filed in the Legislature for years, including a 2011 bill The Weed Street Journal covered at the time, but none reached the governor’s desk. Supporters went to the ballot instead, as they had in 2008 with Question 2, which decriminalized possession of an ounce or less. Attorney General Martha Coakley later ruled that towns could regulate where dispensaries went but could not ban them outright.
The Licensing Rollout, 2013 to 2015
DPH adopted regulations in May 2013 and ran a two-phase application process: a short first phase to screen applicants, then a detailed second phase for those invited to continue. The Weed Street Journal’s original post on this page reported the Phase 2 invitations for Barnstable County in the fall of 2013. In January 2014 the department named 20 applicants for provisional licenses.
That list did not hold. After expanded background checks, an audit of corporate statements and interviews, DPH disqualified nine of the 20 on June 27, 2014, including both Boston applicants and three projects tied to former U.S. Rep. William Delahunt. Eleven were cleared to continue, and rejected groups were allowed to reapply.
Alternative Therapies Group finally opened the state’s first dispensary in Salem on June 24, 2015, by appointment only and under a one-time state waiver from full contaminant testing. By the end of 2015, WBUR reported, four dispensaries were open, in Salem, Brockton, Northampton and Ayer, and 16,510 patients had registered, up from 1,423 in January.
What Happened Next
The medical program grew steadily, and voters went further on November 8, 2016, approving Question 4 to legalize adult-use marijuana. The first recreational stores, in Leicester and Northampton, opened on November 20, 2018. Oversight of the medical program moved from DPH to the new Cannabis Control Commission in 2018.
Where It Stands in 2026
Medical and adult-use cannabis are both legal in Massachusetts, and the Legislature rewrote parts of the law again in April 2026. For current possession limits, taxes and patient rules, see our Massachusetts marijuana laws guide. Federal status, including the April 2026 move of state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III, is covered on our federal laws page, and other states’ rules are on our cannabis laws hub.
Massachusetts Question 3 (2012) FAQ
What was Massachusetts Question 3 in 2012?
A ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana for registered patients with a doctor’s certification and allowed up to 35 nonprofit dispensaries. It passed with about 63% of the vote.
When did Question 3 take effect?
January 1, 2013. Dispensaries had to wait for Department of Public Health regulations, which came in May 2013.
When did the first Massachusetts dispensary open?
June 24, 2015, when Alternative Therapies Group opened in Salem.
Why did it take so long?
The state’s first round of 20 provisional licenses was cut to 11 in June 2014 after background checks and audits turned up problems, and testing rules delayed supply.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.
