Provincetown is poised to become the first town on Cape Cod to have a retail marijuana store. On Thursday, the company Curaleaf, of Wakefield, Massachusetts, announced it had received final approval for a storefront on Commercial Street. Massachusetts began permitting marijuana retail stores in November 2018, but Cape towns have been slow to adopt the legislation. Many towns have either deferred approval or voted to ban retail stores entirely. This means in many ways Provincetown's store will serve as an example for others.
"This symbolizes safe regulated access for responsible adults on Cape Cod," Spencer Knowles, co-founder of cannabis advocacy group Regulate Cape Cod said. "Their opening really symbolizes what you can do on the Cape and the future of a regulated industry on the Cape."
He added that he believed the store might assuage a lot of the worries other towns have raised around retail stores. Curaleaf plans to open its doors in January. Advocates hope that the store will be able to provide extra revenue for the otherwise seasonal economy of Provincetown, as well as year-round jobs.
"I think the proof needs to be in the pudding," Knowles said. "I think they need to see there’s a novelty factor that does increase traffic, and then it normalizes. This shop has a great location right on Commercial Street, and we want to show residents that this is just another business."