Many people don't realize that marijuana or cannabis can cause psychotic episodes and lead to schizophrenia. Psychosis is characterized as disruptions to a person’s thoughts and perceptions that make it difficult for them to recognize what is real and what isn’t. These disruptions are often experienced as seeing, hearing and believing things that aren’t real or having strange, persistent thoughts, behaviors and emotions. (NAMI.org) 

After losing their son Johnny to a psychotic episode in 2019, John and Laura Stack have been doing everything humanly possible to ensure that legislators, parents and youth are warned. “We were a normal family,” John Stack said. “If this can happen to us, it can happen to anyone.” 

There is no test for a child's risk of developing Cannabis Induced Psychosis (CIP) so education is essential. Denver investigative reporter Tony Kovaleski takes a serious look into the high THC products being sold to youth in the video below. 

Dr. Kenneth Finn, MD is a Pain Medicine Specialist in Colorado Springs who spent four years on Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Council. He has followed the story of Johnny Stack’s death and said, “He was diagnosed with cannabis psychosis and sometimes that’s a bridge you can’t uncross when you become psychotic,” he said. Dr. Finn added that he would like to see the Colorado Department of Health and Environment step up its efforts to educate Colorado residents about the potential risks of high-potency marijuana. “They should be the ones that are helping communities understand the risks and benefits in the marijuana world, and they are not,” he said.

To learn more about the risks associated with using THC products sold in retail marijuana dispensaries, medical marijuana dispensaries and on the street, visit Johnny's Ambassadors.