I am writing to share my daughter’s experience with vaping high-potency THC. My daughter started her freshman year and turned 14 in September 2022. She did well in school, but struggled to fit in socially. She had been diagnosed at a young age with ADHD, anxiety, and autism. When she started high school, she loved figure skating and enjoyed spending her spare time at the rink practicing on the ice. I was so happy she found something that made her happy. Sometime around February 2023, she started vaping THC. It started as taking hits off of other people’s vapes in school or on the bus and turned into buying her own from kids at school. None of us were prepared for what the next two years had in store.
Over the next two years, she would have several suicide attempts, self-harm, Cannabis Induced Psychosis (CIP), and Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS). She had 4 psychiatric inpatient hospital stays and a couple of emergency room visits. She attended intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and partial hospitalization programs (PHP).
The CIP was gradual over a short period of time. It was devastating to watch her mental health declining. She started having auditory and visual hallucinations that got more intense over time. She started to state that she had Bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia, and she definitely showed symptoms of those. She heard voices that would tell her to harm herself. Her behavior was reckless; she had episodes of sleep paralysis, paranoia, self-harm, and a lack of empathy, just to name a few. I couldn’t help but wonder how and why, all of a sudden, at the start of high school, she developed a severe mental illness. I just felt so confused and I knew something was missing. I just didn’t know what it was yet…
After the second psychiatric hospitalization, I knew I had to take some time off of work to focus on getting her better and figure out our next steps. Not only that, but she could not be left home by herself without supervision. Before I took time off of work I would have to make sure someone could be home with her until my husband or I got home. Her behavior was so impulsive that I was always on edge for what would happen next. At this point, I still didn’t know what was causing her new and worsening mental health issues. Her behavior and personality changed so much. She was diagnosed with a mood disorder, but things just continued to get worse…
The other thing she experienced was CHS. She had chronic vomiting, mostly in the morning, and nausea throughout the day. We had asked the pediatrician about it, but she was told she should eat something healthy before bed. At the time, I still didn’t know about the use of THC. Eventually, she ended up in the emergency room after having severe pain from a kidney infection. She was dehydrated and hooked to an IV for fluids. The issues with vomiting, nausea, and kidneys continued. We eventually saw a specialist who administered tests, but no reason could be found as to why.
December 2023 was when she had her third psychiatric hospitalization. At this time, she was put on antipsychotic medication, which was needed but had some very unpleasant side effects. Luckily, this time, we were given a CMO (Care Management Organization) staff member to help us find the care my daughter needed once discharged. Soon after the third hospitalization, I would get answers to all of my questions. My biggest question being, what has happened to my daughter and will she ever be back to who she was not that long ago?
One night in March 2024, before bed, she told me she had been vaping THC and wanted to talk to her doctor about getting a medical marijuana card. I knew this was not a good idea, so that night I googled THC and found the website for Johnny’s Ambassadors. I could not believe what I was reading. Everything that we’ve been going through, everything that caused the new and worsening mental health issues, everything my daughter was experiencing physically was right there. I finally had answers. I now knew what was causing the psychosis. The answer … was high-potency THC.
I emailed Laura Stack, the mother of Johnny and founder of Johnny’s Ambassador’s, and she graciously replied. Sadly, Laura lost her son to suicide due to the effects of THC. She has made it her mission to educate kids about the dangers of today’s weed. I saw that she was holding an assembly in Franklin Hills, NJ, and after telling her about my daughter, she was kind enough to get us passes to attend the assembly. Unfortunately, the day before we were to attend, my daughter came home from school sick from a vape and ended up in the emergency room. She suggested I join the Facebook group that she created for parents of children with cannabis induced psychosis. The group is still helping me tremendously.
I went to the school and let them know my daughter was vaping at school. They put her on hall restriction, but she continued to get vapes from other kids. We stopped allowing her to take the bus home or to school. I started drug testing her at home. Since she knew she was being tested, she started getting “mushroom vapes” from school. She was told it contained no THC. However, her levels went up and she was surprised to see it had THC. This goes to show that these kids don’t know what’s in the vapes. There have even been cases where vapes are laced with fentanyl.
Her last psychiatric hospitalization was August 2024. She had been clean from THC and vapes since June. She was still on the antipsychotics, which caused her to gain 40 pounds. With school starting in a couple of weeks, she became very anxious and depressed. This time, I was able to tell them during the intake at the hospital about her past but recent use of vapes containing different types of drugs. The nurse said that they are seeing a large number of kids coming in with mental health issues from these vapes.
As of February 2025, I’m so happy to say that my daughter is back to herself. She is playing guitar and taking lessons. She is laughing and being silly. She’s happy, healthy, and having fun. She is no longer experiencing psychosis, hearing voices, or seeing things and people who aren’t there. All of the CHS symptoms are gone, and she no longer has vomiting, nausea, or kidney issues. These all cleared up when she stopped using THC.
Unfortunately, for a lot of families, their loved ones who became addicted to cannabis ended up with permanent bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia. This is much more harmful than the weed that was around in the 90s, 80s, or earlier. Now that cannabis is legal and available for recreational use, children, teens, and adults are looking at it as fun and harmless. A harmless way to relax, medicinal, and natural. This is so far from the truth. There is nothing medicinal about today’s weed. It is a billion-dollar industry that is preying on our kids. These products are easy to buy off of the internet and have been making their way through our schools.
There are so many different vapes that mimic everyday items and make it so easy for kids to hide them from parents and teachers. Vapes can be disguised as pens, highlighters, asthma inhalers, USB drives, and even hoodie strings. High potency THC vapes, gummies, and all kinds of different strains of cannabis are available at gas stations, mini marts, convenience stores, and any of the several dispensaries in our area. These vapes being sold legally contain up to 95% THC. The way a lot of the products are packaged, it’s clear who they are targeting.
It’s not just dangerous for kids, as there has been an increase in violent crimes committed by adults. Before my daughter told me she was vaping THC, I thought weed is same as it was when I was a teen, only 2-5% THC. I had no idea today’s weed is completely different and extremely dangerous. I encourage parents to become familiar with today’s weed. I’d like to raise awareness, because I wish I knew sooner.
To learn more about high potency THC, you should visit Johnny’s Ambassador’s website and join Johnny’s Ambassadors – Youth THC Prevention Facebook.
Also, the most informative video I’ve found so far has been a one-hour film titled, “The Cannabis Deception” – Voices of Hope – episode 11.
I do believe that a picture is worth a thousand words. This is a drawing my daughter drew while in Cannabis Induced Psychosis. As you notice, she writes, “the dark one wants me dead.”
