In a free-wheeling and THC-saturated new interview, legendary West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Lion, for those going along with his “conversion” into a more mature reggae artist) has said that he wants to educate 8- and 9-year-old kids on the virtues of marijuana.

“Believe it or not, they need to know,” Snoop Dogg told GQ about wanting to read the book It’s Just a Plant: A Children’s Story of Marijuana to the peewee football team he coaches. “It’s from the earth—it’s not some man-made s—. It’s actually growing from the ground straight to you, so it’s just like eating a vegetable. You know what I’m saying? Cancer and diseases that never had a cure, now all of a sudden you got people taking chemotherapy, and they’re also having a toke, and they live longer.”

The admission came while Snoop Dogg escorted the magazine’s writer to one of California’s many medical marijuana dispensaries, where “patients” with a state ID and doctor’s recommendation can peruse and purchase a wide range of marijuana strains and products, including weed-laced baked goods, sodas and candy.

In the same interview, Snoop Dogg talked about giving free weed to some homeless men (he also bought them lunch), and would welcome the chance to show his own kids how to partake in the controversial herb.

“It’s not that I would ever push weed on our kids,” he said. “but if they wanted to, I would love to show them how, the right way, so that way they won’t get nothing put in their s— or overdose or trying some s— that ain’t clean.”

Snoop Dogg has three kids, who range in age from 12 to his 18-year-old son Corde (AKA “Spanky Danky”), whose affection for marijuana has been well-documented on his Twitter page, where he often talks about weed and has even posted a photo of him sharing bong tokes with his famous father.

The rapper discussed Corde in recently published outtakes from the interview, stating, “The bottom kids, the two of mine, are more mature than my oldest son,” in reference to Corde. “That ain’t no disrespect; it’s just that he’s still in ‘I don’t give a f—’ mode.”

–Scott T. Sterling, CBS Local