Students in Highbridge got a lesson in cannabis as part of an after-school health education program.

The Just Ask Me program is part of the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco). It helps students learn about sexual and reproductive health, and in 2022 added drug education to its curriculum.

The middle schoolers at P.S. 218 learned about the drug, the different forms it comes in, dispelling misconceptions about the drug and more.

"Marijuana is so readily available, and students really need to have an understanding of what is out there, what's on the market, and what it looks like so they can make informed decisions,” said Nicole Jennings, WHEDco program founder and coordinator.

Jennings helps facilitate the discourse in the classroom with the help of some high school seniors. With marijuana recently becoming legal in New York state, Jennings says that it’s become more accessible and the program helps to educate kids on what the drug can do.

"Where marijuana and cannabis is everywhere, they know where they can get it and they can get it in minutes,” said Jennings, who says many kids enter her class believing marijuana is healthy and not addictive.