By Erin Ryan
On Monday, March 19th at 7:00pm, the Hopkinton Public School Wellness Advisory Committee, in collaboration with Main Street Pediatrics and the beFree! organization, will hold “The Truth About Marijuana” presentation in the high school auditorium, open to all students, teachers, and parents.

The Wellness Advisory is bringing in multiple speakers to talk to the attendees about the history, usage, and effects of marijuana. These speakers include Dr. Stephanie Bodor of Main Street Pediatrics, chief trial counsel member Michael Fabbri of the Middlesex District Attorney’s office, and Hopkinton High School class of 2000 alumni, Nicholas Levine.

Because the presentation is on a school night, and because of the lack of student interest, the hosts of the event are concerned about having a low student attendance. In order to encourage students to go, the school club “beFree!”, which is in charge of providing fun, drug and alcohol free activities, is offering a free admission ticket, valid at any beFree! event, for all students that attend this presentation.

Although some students are persuaded to attend by the free beFree! admission ticket, many other students still believe that the audience of the presentation will consist mostly of parents and teachers. Hopkinton High School junior Kayla Paradis commented on the issue saying, “I think it would have been a better idea for the hosts of the presentation to schedule it during a more convenient time for the students. Even though there a some kids that would not want to go no matter when it was, there are others that can not go simply because it is on a school night when they have homework and sports.”

Some other students, who wish to remain anonymous, said that they along with many of their friends did not want to attend the presentation because they felt that the speakers would be “taking the wrong approach”. One of the sophomore students said, “I actually am interested in learning more about marijuana and it’s effects, but I think that if I go to the presentation it will feel more like I am being threatened than being taught.”

However, some other students are much more excited and enthusiastic about the presentation. Hopkinton High School junior Cory Crater said, “offering a free beFree! admission ticket for students that attend was a great idea by the both the club and the other hosts. A lot of people in our school attend those events and I think the free ticket from this event will excite them and encourage them to go and check out the presentation.”

Similar presentations have been done during the school day for high school students before in Hopkinton, but this will be the first time that both students and their parents can attend together, along with other people in town.

To find out more about other events and presentations being put on by the Hopkinton Wellness Advisory, you can follow them on twitter @HOP_WELLNESS.