On April 23 at Hingham’s Annual Town Meeting, the decision was made to ban any medical marijuana establishments from coming to Hingham. Before this ban was agreed upon, citizens of the town discussed for over a hour the possible benefits and consequences that may arise from allowing marijuana dispensaries in Hingham.

One concern people had was that children and teens would see marijuana as a normalized substance if there were an increased presence of it in their hometown. Superintendent of Hingham High School Dorothy Galo gave her full support to the ban and even discussed the dangers that establishing a medical marijuana facility in Hingham would have to students in the town.

However, students at Hingham High offered a different opinion on how a marijuana establishment in Hingham could affect them. Senior Lucy Nash shares, “personally, I don’t think it’s a big deal because given the statistics in the news, it’s not as much of a problem as people think, especially, for those who need it for medical purposes, and if it’s helping people in the long run, I think it is fine. And the stigma around it is changing so much that putting one in wouldn’t be a big deal.” Nash’s opinion is not one that belongs exclusively to high schoolers. In fact, many citizens of Hingham brought up the same points during the Town Meeting.

The Hingham residents who supported the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in town argued that the drug is already widely accessible to everyone, so allowing shops would not change anything in the town. Some citizens even argued that there is already there is already many people using marijuana in Hingham, so having a medical dispensary in town would not impact the consumption level.

Senior Meaghan Connelly claims, “I personally think that since marijuana is now legal for recreational purposes, then why are we stopping it? Why is it being prohibited in all of these towns around us? Because people only want to keep up their reputations and if that’s all people care about, then they need to get over themselves because for marijuana users, it’s their body and their choice and they can do what they want with things that are legal.” Although Connelly’s opinion may seem somewhat radical, when compared to other members of the town, her words are no less valid than the others who spoke on the topic.

Although the ban was passed and marijuana dispensaries are now banned in Hingham for the foreseeable future, students should not be hindered from speaking up about their opinions on the matter. Many will be eligible to vote soon, and as recent events prove, the ballot can be even more powerful than the mouth.