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by Katherine Isbell
August 29, 2018
HANOVER — The new laws surrounding recreational marijuana can be hard for the public to understand. South Shore’s Youth Health Connection is working to break them down for teenagers and parents, as well as the effect of marijuana use on the developing teenage brain.
In an interactive exhibit at the Hanover Mall, open for the second year and newly redesigned, called “Weeding Through the Myths: Marijuana in Massachusetts,” visitors can learn about the state of recreational marijuana in the Commonwealth and the legal consequences users may face, as well as vaping and e-cigarettes, the importance of good communication between parents and teenagers and how to deal with stress and anxiety without using drugs.
“We know we voted through that retail marijuana sales will be out, however, unlike other states, it didn’t have like that midnight opening or anything, so people are kind of like, ‘What’s happening?’ Well, we don’t know, the Cannabis Control Commission is in the process of providing all of the licensing for all of those establishments,” said Kim Noble, a registered nurse and the program coordinator for Youth Health Connection, “In the meantime, we just want to help people understand what is the law, that it’s 21 and over. How do we help parents educate their own kids about that? Everything, this is all new to us, so that’s really the thing that we just want to help people understand the law.”
At a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, attendees heard from Noble, as well as Dr. Barbara Green, the medical director for Youth Health Connection, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, Antony Sheehan, the president and CEO of South Shore Mental Health, and Hanover Police Chief William Sweeney.
The exhibit itself opens to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 4 and runs through Saturday, Sept. 29. It is located inside the Hanover Mall and will be open from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 1-3 p.m. on Saturdays.