Marijuana for Kids.

A children’s book about pot sounds pretty much like a non-starter. So, when I found out that such a text existed, I absolutely had to see it, meet the author, and ask what on Earth had moved him to create such a reader.

What most struck me about Ricardo Cortés, author of It’s Just a Plant, was his willingness to have the discussion; his reasonable, non-combative air; and that apparently he’d completely thought through his entire argument, and was generally able to address each question I had.

That, and a definite modicum of courage. Even as a person who has never smoked or drank anything mind-altering, not even a Coca-Cola, I thought the idea of doing such a book brave, perhaps even necessary.

Mostly, though, as opposed to backing away from tough topics, I believe the fact that a subject is difficult makes a greater case for books on it, and that such treatises are the reason we have a 1st Amendment in the United States.

Since that conversation, I’ve had Cortés back to talk about his counter-terrorism coloring book, I Don’t Want to Blow You Up!, also published by his company, Magic Propaganda Mill. As well, It’s Just a Plant has been translated into other languages, including Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and, of course, Thai.

But you can revisit our meeting, as Ricardo Cortés is the guest today on this repeat edition of my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, April 10, at 2 pm ET.

You can hear this ideas by tuning in at 2 pm. If you’re outside of the New York tri-state, check out our stream on the web. If you miss the live show, dig into our archives for up to 90 days after broadcast.