The UK’s cannabis battle has reach new heights in the last 12 months with more seriously enthusiastic activists joining the dank ranks than ever before. Well, cannabis is far from one of the seven deadly sins so we thought we would compile a list of seven heady wins that activists could add to their game in 2015.
Set out your intentions
What do you want to achieve in the next 12 months and how are you going to go about making them happen. Plan each event out on paper and write down how you are going to make them happen and delegate responsibilities to share.
Don’t take on too much
Spreading yourself too thin in activism is very easy to do. There will be many great ideas and plans that you want to get involved in but it is wise to choose carefully which projects you want to put your energy into. This is important not only for your own mind and schedule but if you are putting little bits of energy into too many projects none of them are going to get the best of you and get everything you intended to make them. So it really is beneficial to pick something to be passionate about rather than wanting to be part of everything that’s going on.
Keep it stupid simple
Getting carried away and overcomplicating things that could be successful if kept relatively simple is a common reason that projects fail or come up an early brick wall. Your activism isn’t going to be judged on the complexity of what you are trying to pull off. Simple plans or messages usually make the most effective and successful campaigning tools. If you come up with an idea that you think everyone will have thought of it that’s usually a good sign because it probably means people are more likely to connect with it.
Plan 4 months ahead where possible
Events are popping up here there and everywhere these days in the UK cannabis community, even some not affiliated at all with any of the main activist organisation’s that have emerged in the last 3 years. Once you have planned your calendar for the year it is a practical idea to make sure the events you have lined up for the next 4 months are prepared as close to the final stages as possible. The added pressure of a closing deadline can make everything seem a bit too much when you have left things too late or not given yourself enough time to prepare. If everything like venue and speakers arrangements and advertising are confirmed in advance anything you remember last minute can be dealt with easily and isn’t just another thing to deal with on the top of a tall pile.
Have a physical work meeting at least once a month
Having yourselves organized is one thing, but making sure you have good lines of communication open are important to make sure that people aren’t getting the wring messages and everyone is fulfilling their responsibilities but also giving feedback to the team about the work they have done, anything they have come up against or anything they need help in resolving. Yes, the internet makes it very easy for us to communicate on a daily or weekly basis but having that face to face time really does help speed things up because you are able to bounce back with one another in a much more responsive way sharing the same space at the same time. In these meetings you can discuss and set objectives, delegate tasks and responsibilities and set your dates for events and dates to get things done for the events by.
Advertise your events minimum of 4-6 weeks in advance
After you have planned your event you need to advertise it. This is done by making a poster and/or a flyer that can be posted up digitally online and physically in appropriate places. Once you have posted this online on your page you will want to put together a blog/article advertising and explaining to people what it is and why they should come along – you can’t expect people to know about this event just because you have arranged it, you need to put it in their faces and in a way that can reach as many as possible and we can help achieve that through the website. Share the blog, event page and flyer image on your page at least twice a week and share it on other pages as you page profile to help grow your reach for your page and your event.
Advertise your next event meeting at the end of each one
The chances are you will have new visitors at your public meetings each time (if not you’re advertising isn’t working) so the best way to keep hold of these members is to make friends, take their contact details like a phone number or e-mail address so you can let them know when any meetings or events are taking place in future. You should also have a flyer prepared for your next meeting so you can promote it to your captive demographic at the most appropriate moment. Even if this is a temporary flyer that just says the date time and location it is better than nothing and increases your chances of growing your turnout meeting upon meeting.
If you are now at the stage where you would like to register your club with the UKCSC and take advantage of the advice and legal support we offer please email info@1f5.f6e.myftpupload.com with the subject “Registering [your club name]” and we will get back to you with the documents you will need to read and the forms you need to complete and return to us.
The UKCSC believe that standing together to be counted as one and as many is key to being seen as a legitimate community of people and respected as individuals in our choice to use cannabis. We see this as the first steps to having the cannabis industry viewed in a positive light and progress towards the legally regulated industry.
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