Susan Soares has served as a longtime local advocate within the cannabis community. She was asked a question about how to broach the subject of cannabis use to children when interviewed about the industry on The Woody Show. While Soares answered the question sufficiently, she’s since reflected on the discontent she felt with her response. This interview led her to the question of cannabis – and how we can most effectively broach the subject of its legal use with children throughout the United States. The changing regulatory standards surrounding cannabis and its medicinal value have increased the openness of its use for a variety of ailments, both physical and psychological. However, as any educator or parent knows, the way we speak to children has tremendous power in the ways we view the world around us. From that day forward, Soares set out to tackle the difficult subject: what’s the best way to talk about cannabis with our nation’s kids?
From Contemplation to Creation
Soares spent the following year interviewing parents who use cannabis about the way they’d tackled the topic with their children. To her surprise, less than five percent of these parents had broached the subject with their kids. This was even true for parents who worked in the cannabis or head shop industries, as well as parents who used medical marijuana regularly. This intentional secrecy baffled Soares – “even if it was painfully obvious,” she remarked, “they’re trying to hide it from their kids.”
Here’s the thing – when we attempt to hide subjects from children, usually that secrecy means that a subject is inherently adult or shameful. While we shouldn’t approach conversations on cannabis lightly, treating it as something worth hiding increases the stigma associated with the plant. Children are generally more perceptive than they’re given credit for, and sensing the secrecy surrounding cannabis use may lead them to resist asking questions about cannabis. Soares believes that this lack of information and internalized stigma on the subject can lead to experimentation in ways that are less safe and informed than the forays of kids with a healthy basis of information about marijuana.
Soares’ grandchildren are well-educated about cannabis – and she touts this proudly. “I can’t have alcohol, coffee, or cannabis’ – they say it all the time. They’re proud of it. They get it.” By trusting more kids with age-appropriate information in this way, Soares believes they’ll feel empowered and make more conscientious decisions accordingly.
What’s Growing In Grandma’s Garden?
Still, Soares knows that these conversations don’t always come easily, and it can be tough to know where to begin. That’s why Soares recently released a book to help parents discuss cannabis with their kids in clear, thoughtful, and age-appropriate ways. She recently released her kid-friendly publication called What’s Growing In Grandma’s Garden? The colorful, cheerful book is based on the real story of her grandchildren’s questions about the greenhouse in which Soares grew and consumed medicinal cannabis. Soares explains that she created the children’s book as a cheerful conversation starter. “I wrote the book with very few words. It’s very light, and it’s just meant to inspire conversation.”
The book begins with a description of her greenhouse from her grandchildren’s perspective. Most of the plants, as her grandson-turned-narrator explains in the book’s early pages, are used for food and medicine (she doesn’t just grow cannabis – also kratom, aloe vera, and Echinacea). There’s a cheerful description of the bugs and garden surprises he finds along the way as he slowly works his way around the greenhouse. The boy then heads off for lunch with his grandmother – picking fresh-grown sweet potatoes while grandma grabs some raw cannabis for her lunchtime smoothie. When he asks for a sip, she explains that her concoction is only for adults. Grandma then moves away from their picnic to a sidewalk and draws a brain on the adjacent sidewalk with chalk. While she draws, she explains that his young brain will still be growing until his mid-twenties and that it’s essential to give it only proper nutrients to ensure that it reaches its full potential of speed and strength. She further explains that “grown-up things” aren’t bad, just because they’re meant for grown-ups. After their lunch and friendly conversation, the adults break to do “grown-up things” nearby, sipping wine while grandma medicates her aching knees with a bit of MMJ.
Soares believes that avoiding conversations about “grown-up things” like cannabis doesn’t benefit children in the ways that many believe. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of broaching these subject matters in a mindful and developmentally-informed way, to ensure that kids are empowered by information without being overwhelmed by age-inappropriate content.
What Do You Think?
Not everyone will agree with Soares’ opinions on talking about cannabis with kids. However, if your kids are asking questions about cannabis and you’re not sure how to proceed, it can be worth taking a look at her colorful children’s book. If you’re exclusively in the market for smoke shop products of your own, look no further than our three Denver-area locations. 710 Pipes carries a huge variety of popular products and accessories, like JUULs and other vaporizers, water pipes, hats, hat pins and so much more! We have two area locations open daily – with one smoke shop in Northglenn and a Denver smoke shop location on Evans Avenue near DU.