NILES CHARTER TOWNSHIP — More than half the seats at Niles Township Hall at 320 Bell Road were filled at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning for a public meeting on medical marijuana.

The township board invited Lisa Peeples-Hurst, the public health promotor and preventionist specialist supervisor for the Berrien County Health Department to speak about marijuana effects on minors as it considers whether to allow medical marijuana businesses in its limits after previously voting not to.

“We think it’s really important for everyone to get educated on the whole issue, pro, con, all of it,” said trustee Chris Vella, who was the primary organizer of the event.

Peeples-Hurst spoke about basic marijuana facts and statistics, as well as a county campaign, thedirtonweed.com, to prevent people under 21 from using it.

To ensure that all sides were heard, board members submitted questions to Peeples-Hurst ahead of her presentation, and the board opened the floor for three-minute general responses.

Each of the eight responses promoted the health, economic and infrastructural benefits of various marijuana products. Many also shared anti-medicinal drug sentiments.

“There’s a lot of proponents, but I’m not here to fight proponents,” Peeples-Hurst said before her presentation. “I’m here to supply some facts.”

Peeples-Hurst said those 21 and over are allowed to use medical marijuana by state law, so the county and the state is focused on keeping marijuana out of minors’ hands.

She provided statements that the county and state use. Many led to the same conclusion: marijuana used by those under 21 could have negative effects on health.

“Whatever your decision is regarding your kids’ use of marijuana, it should be communicated directly to them,” she said. “If you’re a marijuana user yourself, part of the simple conversation is to say, ‘When you’re 21, you make those decisions, but right now, there is too much that can happen in your brain development.”’

Peeples-Hurst said that marijuana smoke can damage lungs and blood vessels just as tobacco products can, largely due to various chemicals inside them.

She also said that a study provided to her showed that early marijuana users could have their brain development stunted and become susceptible to addiction later in life.

The secondhand effects of marijuana ingestion were also mentioned. The county and state said that pregnant women should avoid taking in marijuana products, and mothers should avoid smoking while breastfeeding or near their children.

“There’s already so much stuff going on, right?” Peeples-Hurst said about teenagers ingesting marijuana. “So, when you add to the hormones the substance of marijuana, that starts to affect the brain in certain centers.”

Outside of personal prohibition and communication, Peeples-Hurst recommended obtaining safe boxes and child-proof locks for marijuana products.

Dispensaries could play a role in prevention, too, she said. They could minimize marketing appealing to minors and provide information on the negative effects of marijuana on the age group.

Many speakers who provided public comment after Peeples-Hurst’s presentation claimed that parts of the marijuana plant could be a cure-all for health and be used in everyday life, from clothing to infrastructure material to plastics.

“The air we breathe should have cannabis pollen in it,” said Matt Johnson, who owns a hydroponics store Lush Lighting in the township. “The food that we eat should have cannabis flours instead of wheat flour. Everything that we come into contact within our life should have cannabis.”

Johnson was also one of four speakers who said medicinal drugs were harmful. Speakers specifically pointed to drugs that can be addictive, such as morphine and OxyContin. They also said or implied that all medicinal drugs were harmful, should not be used and were controlled by a profit-driven corporation.

“The medicine man had herbs,” Johnson said. “Herbs and spices. That’s what medicine is. That’s what’s created by God and provide to us by nature.”

Medicinal drugs caused harm, said a Niles resident and employee at a medical center who goes by the pseudonym Daisy Glow.

“Simply, CBD, cannabidiol can be the cure,” she said. “You don’t need to take drugs with side effects. I work in the medical industry right now. I have nurses that work with me on CBD because of the stress they have to go through on a daily basis.”

Some speakers provided personal stories of medical marijuana’s positive effects, such as reducing joint pain and anxiety.

Others made claims promoted by marijuana blog sites that have been proven false by scientific studies.

Despite differences of opinion between Peeples-Hurst and marijuana proponents, audience members said they thought the meeting went well because it started a conversation.

Vella said she was happy to see many of the sides of an issue.

The township board has no set plans to reconsider its opt-out of medical marijuana businesses.