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Representatives from the Wareham Police Department, Wareham Public Schools, Tobey Hospital, the Gleason Family YMCA, and State Representative Susan Williams Gifford (R-Wareham) recognize the “sticky situation” in front of them with the passing of a ballot question that will legalize the recreational use of marijuana, and they’re taking measures to prepare for the worst in Wareham.

In a one-hour meeting of the Wareham Substance Abuse Coalition, more than a dozen public figures weighed in on the discussion of the problems surrounding the legislation of recreational marijuana.

By the end of the meeting, after Gifford had explained to everyone exactly what the legislation would allow for, the main concern for a majority of the attendees was the safety of children.

“I think we have to push even stronger now for the education of the children because the children now are saying, ‘These adults are doing it for fun... it can’t be that bad’,” said Police Chief Kevin Walsh. “The more focus has to be on them.”

For Rachel Davis, a member of the Substance Abuse Coalition and representative of Tobey Hospital, measures have to be taken in the schools and places like the YMCA.

She said implementing youth risk behavior surveys is important to gauge how Wareham teens view marijuana use.

“You need that baseline data so that…any programs you bring in, you can track it and you know where to target. That’s not happening right now in Wareham and it should,” said Davis.

The coalition and all who attended the meeting have a little time before the legislation goes into effect, which is projected to be on Dec. 15. Gifford noted it’d most likely be later than that.

Additionally, it won't be until January of 2018 that applications for the commercial sale of marijuana can be approved.

Until then, Gifford warned officials and community members that Wareham needs to be prepared.

Some of these initiatives include having roadside tests for marijuana intoxication, handling tourists that may come to the state just to buy marijuana, and enforcing the number of plants an individual can grow.

Gifford said the intent on passing the legislation was to “prevent sale in an illicit market,” but community members doubt that will be the case.

“No matter what you do, no matter what laws you impose, no matter what taxes you put on it, you’re still going to have some sort of criminal element,” said Ryan Vickery, assistant director of Evergreen House, Inc., a nonprofit halfway house for men. “It’s gonna be a whole new world now.”

The legislation, which passed with the approval of 53 percent of voters in Massachusetts during the November elections in the form of a ballot question, allows adults over the age of 21 to carry an ounce of marijuana outside of the home, 10 ounces of marijuana inside the home, six plants per adult, and provides a timeline for businesses wanting to sell marijuana.