Mashpee Selectman Candidate Visits Cannabis Cape Cod Monthly Meeting

Monday night, at Cannabis Cape Cod’s monthly membership meeting hosted by the Great White Smoke Shop, Shane Clark of Mashpee stopped by to explain why he is seeking a seat on the Town’s Board of Selectmen.

Members recall that last month Mashpee abruptly short-circuited its retail Cannabis licensing process to forego review of several locally-based applicants (Read the Facebook Page Mashpee for More Local Choice for more info) in order to hand over the Town’s one license to the existing medical dispensary, a decision that many have been questioning since. It was especially surprising to those in the industry, given that Triple M’s cultivation operation as of this writing is still not operating, by far the longest shutdown in the Cannabis industry so far. Mr. Clark vowed to bring light to this process, as well as to support local economic growth in general in a town that seems increasingly prone to hosting out-of-state businesses and developers.

The candidate explained that he had run for a seat on the board based on a similar platform two years prior, but fell just 64 votes short. The incumbents who retained their seats promised to be more transparent, but the problem has worsened in Mr. Clark’s estimation. Other issues the Town seems to be neglecting community input on include a recently approved variance for a mobile phone tower in a residential neighborhood, as well as a wastewater treatment center. The Board’s recent actions with respect to the retail Cannabis license therefore appear to be business as usual.

Cannabis Cape Cod’s membership overwhelmingly welcomed Mr. Clark’s remarks, and many in the audience noted that candidates with this type of forward-looking approach should be supported in all Cape towns. Many agreed to help Clark in his efforts where needed. Mashpee residents and supporters are encouraged to visit, like and share his Facebook campaign page here.

The event was sponsored by The Bashful Tarte Bakery of Yarmouth, another local business supporting the industry.

Mashpee Dispensary Applicant Hopes to Reduce Youth Substance Use with Education

While several applicants for Mashpee’s one adult use Cannabis dispensary are offering money to the town generally for “drug prevention”, only one of them has proposed a locally-focused plan and campaign directed at area youth. Holistic Health Group has partnered with the Evolution Communications Agency, a public health communication company that executed similar campaigns in Colorado during that state’s rollout of legalized Cannabis.

“Evolution Communications’ work in Colorado demonstrated that this type of data when shown to the actual student population, was useful in correcting misconceptions about use, thereby potentially reducing and preventing youth substance abuse”

Evolution Communications advises towns to start these plans early in the licensing process in order to learn from local stakeholders how best to obtain baseline data in Mashpee prior to any dispensary opening. Anyone can launch a drug prevention campaign, but a group should aggregate present-day data to know whether the campaign is successful. Methods ranging from social media to handout surveys were employed by Evolution Communications in the past, collecting information on perceptions and usage from local area youth. But recommendations made by parents, school administrators and health professionals must ultimately determine which tools are used in any local setting.

A slide from Evolution Communications’ Mashpee proposal demonstrates the agency’s tailored local approach to its substance use prevention and education campaigns.

HHG has therefore sought input from the Town’s Board of Health, the School Committee and others on these methods to help determine the ultimate cost of its proposal to Mashpee. If successful, HHG’s plans have the potential not merely to educate, but also to actually reduce student use. Evolution Communications’ work in Colorado demonstrated that this type of data when shown to the actual student population, was useful in correcting misconceptions about use, thereby potentially reducing and preventing youth substance abuse.

Creating a youth education and prevention strategy tailored to Mashpee’s needs, and being prepared to collect the necessary data immediately upon the grant of a license from the Town, should be the hallmarks of any dispensary applicant’s plan.