HYANNIS – Despite the glacier-like pace taken by Beacon Hill in implementing the retail marijuana market in Massachusetts, leaders of the industry are emboldening Cape Cod residents to continue to pursue ventures in cannabis.
‘Cannabiz’ kicked off at the Cape Codder Resort and Spa in Hyannis on Thursday to educate those in the retail marijuana industry on a number of key issues surrounding its legalization in the Bay State.
The forum covered many aspects of retail marijuana sales, from increasing business opportunities at the forefront of the newly legalized industry to ridding communities of illicit or unsafe marijuana.
CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Wendy Northcross expressed the Chamber’s willingness to pursue recreational marijuana related business interests.
“Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is clearly on the record of wanting to more deeply understand the business opportunities that exist today. We want to be able to help entrepreneurs and we want to be able to help communities navigate all the nuances of the cannabis industry,” said Northcross, before stating the industry still faces many challenges.
“Primarily and most significantly in our view, is in fact the stigma surrounding this industry, and we don’t see that going away any time soon. But we must, and we can, have intelligent conversations and begin to learn and build our own data sets and learn from other communities that are going ahead of us.”
The forum also took place while numerous towns and cities across the state, including multiple Cape Cod towns, still have moratoriums set in place until local votes determine whether to, ban, limit, or adapt to state legislation for retail recreational marijuana.
The Town of Mashpee voted in its most recent town meeting to allow recreational marijuana establishments. Triple M, which owns medical marijuana facilities in Plymouth and Mashpee, is seeking to break into the recreational industry as well. Triple M CEO Kevin O’Reilly expects to meet Mashpee’s zoning requirements for the new establishment.
The forum was sponsored by monthly business magazine Cape & Plymouth Business.
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
