Question of the Week #2 - Eric Haskell, Candidate for Hingham Selectman

The recreational marijuana legalization law presents many public health and safety issues, but also gives Hingham tools to address them at a local level. As a Selectman, these would be my top priorities:

1. Protect our children from pot, especially infused edible products. The legalization law already forbids marijuana establishments (MEs) near schools. The law also empowers Hingham voters to prohibit all or some MEs, to restrict their locations/hours, and to limit their signage. As a Selectman, I will host a public conversation to ensure that voters can consider how best to keep pot away from kids.

2. Keep our roads safe from marijuana-impaired drivers. From my experience as a prosecutor, I know that marijuana-impaired driving is harder to enforce than alcohol-impaired driving. As a Selectman, I will give Hingham’s police officers the resources they need to impede, detect, and prosecute marijuana-impaired driving.

3. Ensure that any marijuana establishments do not harm the community’s character. Using tools like limitations on location and signage, I will fight to prevent any ME from impacting our residential neighborhoods. The legalization law also empowers Hingham voters to ban pot smoking in public, which the voters should consider.

As the Legislature considers changes to the legalization law, I will work with other elected officials to advocate for our priorities and to preserve Hingham’s local control over legalized marijuana.

Finally, addressing these issues will require input from the entire community. As a Selectman, I will work actively to welcome all perspectives into the conversation.