The Evolution of State Marijuana Policies and Where Prevention Fits In

Registration Now Open!!

Presenter: Scott M. Gagnon, MPP, PS-C, Director, New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center

This webinar provides an overview of the evolution of marijuana policies in the New England states and where prevention fits into the overall picture and conversation.  The training discusses the importance of policy and the different layers of policy that need to be considered: federal, state, municipal, and organizational.  Participants will learn about unintended consequences that can arise from policy not informed by the science of marijuana, addiction, and public health.  Participants will learn the importance of educating the public and influencers with the science of today's marijuana.  Participants will be introduced to how to use the prevention tools we already have at our disposal as commercial marijuana sales begin in some of our states and communities.  

• Participants will learn about the current state of marijuana policies in New England and how they evolve.
• Participants will learn about the importance of policy in the positive and negative impacts on public health.
• Participants will learn how to use the Strategic Prevention Framework and prevention strategies to address intervening variables and contributing factors in their states and/or communities.

Contact Hours: 1.5 hours

About the Presenter

Scott M. Gagnon, MPP, PS-C is a Certified Prevention Specialist and the Director of AdCare Educational Institute of Maine, Inc., and Director of the New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center.  Scott has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service.  Appointed by the Maine Speaker of the House, Scott serves as the public health representative on Maine’s Marijuana Advisory Commission.  Scott chairs the marijuana prevention advocacy & education group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Maine and has also served as Co Chair of the Prevention Task Force for the Maine Opiate Collaborative.  Scott currently serves on the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention National Advisory Council. In addition to his role as Director for the New England PTTC, Scott has been a marijuana science trainer for the New England ATTC.

Scott was the 2017 recipient of the Patrick J. Kennedy Outstanding Advocate Award from Smart Approaches to Marijuana. In 2015, Scott was awarded the Maine Public Health Association's Ruth S. Shaper Memorial Award and Healthy Androscoggin's Will Bartlett Award and is also the 2013 recipient of the Maine Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse Prevention Award. Scott trains and presents both in New England and nationally on marijuana science and policy, as well as on prevention workforce development.