May 18, 2021 testimony, by John & Laura Stack, 0n behalf of our son, Johnny, who issued his warning to us three days before he died by suicide, “Marijuana has ruined my mind and my life. I’m sorry, and I love you.”
I’m Laura Stack. My son is Johnny Stack, who died by suicide at the age of 19 after becoming psychotic from using high-potency THC dabs. He was a happy boy who was raised in an attentive, Christian home. He had a 4.0 GPA, a perfect SAT score in Math, and a scholarship to CSU. He first got marijuana at the age of 14 from a friend’s brother who had a med card. He got his own med card at 18, unbeknownst to us. We found the registry login on his computer after he died. Johnny had NO mental or physical conditions prior to using marijuana, and his primary care doctor confirmed they were not consulted. These products were not available to my child in my home and were not allowed in any fashion. These products have no smell and are easy to hide. As a result of THC, Johnny almost flunked his last semester of high school. He had many legal and social problems. He stole our family dog from our home and threatened to kill it if we didn’t give him money. He had three mental hospital stays, many outpatient programs, therapists, , psychiatrists, medications, expensive brain treatment as a last-ditch effort, and a suicide attempt before his psychotic break at the age of 19. Three days before he died, during dinner at our home, Johnny said, “I just want you to know you were right. You said marijuana would hurt my brain. Marijuana has ruined my mind and my life, and I’m sorry. I love you.” He jumped off the top of the RTD garage at Lincoln Station three days later. We recovered his journals after his death, and he wrote that the mob was after him and that everybody knew everything about him. I am very angry at the criminal “pot shop doctor” who gave my perfectly healthy son a med card so he could get high. My son was NOT depressed, abused, neglected, or self-medicating – he wanted to get high and became paranoid, delusional, and suicidal from being addicted to this toxic THC poison. High schoolers can get weed in 5 minutes, and the 18-year-old seniors are selling it to the younger children. I know because I have my son’s phone with his photos on SnapChat doing it. Johnny was not a criminal—he was a victim of the predatory addiction for-profit marijuana industry. Please vote YES on this bill and save our young people from the dangers of today’s potent marijuana products, or many teens will continue to follow Johnny’s path, and we will lose many generations of our youth in Colorado to psychosis and suicide.
Our youth scored a big victory in Colorado on Wednesday 5/18! The Colorado House Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services committee passed HB21-1317 “Regulating Marijuana Concentrates” unanimously 13-0!
We know Colorado is in the spotlight, and we hope this bill provides a good framework for other states looking for ways to create guardrails to save our 18-20 year old youth from the harms of marijuana. Thank you all for your encouragement and support!