Monica G — February 6, 2023

My son began using marijuana when he was 15 years old.  At first, the changes were not noticeable, but by the end of high school, it was apparent something was seriously wrong. He was not passing his classes and spent all his time smoking marijuana, and was addicted to it. We sent him to his first rehab, and he came out a few months later and moved on to cocaine. He went back to rehab after that, and then he began using methamphetamine and marijuana again. After another rehab stint, he stayed sober for almost two years, had a job, and things looked hopeful. Then he relapsed on methamphetamine and marijuana and continued using over the next two years. In 2021 he admitted to using “only marijuana”. Then we noticed our son began paranoia and was afraid of an FBI agent following him; that night, he had a car accident and totaled his car. Thankfully the person he hit was not seriously injured.  The police officer called and said our son was experiencing a mental health crisis. We arranged to have him picked up on a 5150, and were told he was in psychosis. He stayed in a psychiatric hospital for over two weeks.  This was November 2021; when I picked him up, the paperwork from the hospital said he had a “mood disorder.” He was on psychiatric meds for several months, gained a lot of weight, and began to experience severe depression. He was not showering; he would not talk; he only stayed in his room. As a family, we were trying to engage with him, but he was only a shell of a person.  Last year in January, he entered another psychiatric hospital program PHP and was treated for severe depression and other psychiatric symptoms.  We found out he was smoking marijuana again, with very high THC.  In April 2022, he agreed to enter a long-term rehabilitation program, and to date, he is still there.  The treatment center has told me that he is off all of his meds now and is doing well.  We hope he stays as long as he can because we know that if he returns to high-THC marijuana, it will be psychosis, severe mental health, jail,  or suicide.  My son is now 27.