“It’s Just a Plant” is a book for children about weed, and it follows the story of a young girl who learns about marijuana from several people in her life. Through the story, she talks to a police officer, a doctor, her parents, and a farmer – learning about marijuana from all perspectives. This topic is still taboo for parents. But coming from the illustrator who worked on a book for kids with swear words peppered through the story, who better to tackle this? “It’s Just a Plant is for parents who want to discuss the complexities of pot in a thoughtful and factual manner,” the book description says. The book acknowledges the awkwardness that can come from talking about adult things with children. There’s the same taboo when it comes to discussing puberty and sex, but we all recognize the importance of those conversations, too. “Many parents have tried it, millions still use it, and some feel awkward about disclosing their history, for fear that it might encourage kids to experiment too,” according to the about page for the book. The book acknowledges that when it comes to information about marijuana, kids pick this up at school and often, it can be “more frightening than educational, blaming pot for everything from teenage pregnancy to terrorism.” That’s what “It’s Just a Plant” aims to do—to be that better source with reliable, accurate information about the plant and its uses. The book goes through the potential harm of drug abuse and highlights that this stuff isn’t for kids and that trying pot is for adults only. We’ve all heard the sentiment that the more we keep our kids away from something and paint it as “dangerous” or “bad,” the more likely they are to be interested in whatever that is. The same can be said for conversations like his – if we avoid or brush off any questions relating to marijuana for our kids, they’re going to get the information from somewhere and it just feels a whole lot safer knowing they’re getting the right information from you—or a book like this. “It’s Just a Plant, “ the 4th Edition, will be released in April 2020.
