FIRED UP OVER KID POT BOOK

The crowd at a SoHo reading of "It's Just a Plant" yesterday came away
clearly high over the controversial kids book on marijuana.

"Good," "important" and "harmless" were some of the words from
listeners after author Ricardo Cortes read excerpts from his work at
the Housing Works Used Book Cafe on Crosby St.

About three dozen people, most in their 20s and 30s, showed up to see
what all the fuss was about.

The book has been called everything from "delightful" to an "outrage,"
and one Indiana congressman lambasted it as "a pro-marijuana
children's book."

But Cortes, a former drug-prevention counselor in Brooklyn, said it's
aimed at giving kids the straight dope on pot early because some are
trying their first hit at 10 or younger.

He stresses the book deals with the potential harm of drug abuse and
that kids shouldn't experiment with pot.