My adult son, 23 began using THC/Delta 8 when it became legal here in North Carolina in 2018, his sophomore year of college. He dropped out of college in the middle of his Jr Year to focus on a New App he and a friend was building and also focus on his paintings, he’s an artist. He started a non-profit and sold his art work, using the money to buy school supplies for children in less fortunate communities around Charlotte and he also used the money to buy food for the homeless. He started to slowly decline by excluding himself from friends of family the longer he used. He couldn’t keep a roommate, a job and moved back home 4/2021. He isolated himself to our bonus room and started painting exclusively day and night. He did leave to go to the gym and buy his Delta 8 but nothing else. We couldn’t get him to even come out of his room Christmas morning to open gifts or spend the holidays with family. We began to notice around the holidays that he wouldn’t have conversations with us, ignored us while we were standing in the same room and seemed very angry/agitated with us. The conversations we could get out of him didn’t make any sense. He was delusional about his artwork. Began saying they were master pieces. He finally went into his first psychosis on 5/27. Was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital after attacking his dad, was there two weeks and placed on anti-psychotic and anti-depressant meds. He was home one week, sold a iPhone, got cash and bought Delta 8 again. Went back into psychosis and assaulted me. He was put back into the hospital involuntarily on 6/23 for another two weeks. He was then transported to Pasadena Villa in TN on 7/5 and has less than 3 more weeks there. He is slowly coming back with the medication but is not the same. He will be moved into a PHP Program next. He still refuses to believe that the THC/Delta 8 has anything to do with his illness which is terrifying.
Saving Our Youth from the Harms of THC
I’m very sorry about your son. Unfortunately this is extremely common, even normal downward progression for marijuana users.
The progression seems to be something like this:
1) Initial calming and pleasant high.
2) as the THC builds (they are consuming it faster than it is metabolized.) they get a strange mix of anxiety and depression.
3) they start having paranoid thoughts
4) this causes more anxiety so they use more weed to calm tge anxiety, and it does for a few hours, but then it worsens, so they do more.
5) they become socially withdrawn because of the anxiety, depression, and paranoia, but they increase usage to get that short term calm, not realizing the THC is causing it!
6) the build up if THC over time starts causing manic episodes, delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia, if resulting in suicidal and homicidal thoughts and behavior, ultimately leading to violence, and murder. And after the murder they frequently celebrate because they think they did something good.
7). Once a long term user with Cannabis Induced Psychosis goes off weed, the withdrawal makes it worse for as long as 2 to 3 months. Full recovery can be 6 months to a year. It’s extremely hard to get patients to understand/believe the marijuana caused it. They will say “I had a mental breakdown because of stress.” Not realizing the weed caused the stress.
Note: thanks for your story- keep telling everyone!
Sincerely
Dr Doug
Sadly our son experienced all 7 as outlined. In those at risk (the risk is often unknown).
Initially due to legal high potency THC obtained in Seattle.
Then on return to the Midwest relapses x2 each slightly less severe and caught earlier than the prior, starting back with delta 8THC available more readily here.
The stories shared here are strikingly similar as triggered by the same substance, THC in any form.
Jackie, MD