A group fighting against a ballot question that would legalize the use, distribution and cultivation of medical marijuana in Massachusetts warns that voter approval in November would endanger the health of adolescents and put the drug in the hands of people who have no medical need for it.

Meeting Wednesday with editors of The Patriot Ledger, representatives from the coalition aiming to defeat Question 3 argued that the ballot initiative offers no safeguards.

"There's no age restriction, no parent notification and no specifications on what state licensed physicians would be from," said Sen. John F. Keenan, D-Quincy, who is backing the effort to defeat the ballot question.

[continues 325 words]

For students at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, it's as commonplace as the pencils and notebooks: kids bringing marijuana to school or showing up for class when they're high.

The principal describes it as "epidemic," and students say pot is pervasive, used by a vast number of their peers on campus.

Last November, school administrators expelled two students for possession of marijuana and suspended another three who were found to be under the influence of the drug while at school.

[continues 1530 words]