Those signatures were needed for the required ten qualified voters who submitted the original petition to put forward the full text of the law they want enacted.

According to reports, the group claimed that the wording of the measure hid key provisions of the potential state statute.

[10] During the case hearings, associate justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court Robert J. Cordy was skeptical of the ballot measure's wording, indicating he was open to a re-writing of the proposal's language, asking the Attorney General, "If it was entitled, 'Medical use of cigarettes,' would you have a problem with that?

"[11] Around June 8, 2012, the supreme judicial court ruled in favor of the opponents who filed the lawsuit, stating that the measure's language was misleading.

[12] In a decision on July 2, 2012 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Robert J. Cordy approved newly rewritten language of the measure.