Laura Stack’s 19-year-old son, Johnny, died by suicide after five years of heavy THC use. What is the connection to youth THC use and suicide? In Colorado, the #1 cause of death in youth ages 15-18 is suicide, and the #1 substance found in their toxicology reports is THC (35%).
In this presentation, Laura Stack discusses Five Ways THC is Associated with Increased Suicidality, using her son as an example with ample peer-review research studies:
Five Ways THC is Associated with Increased Suicidality:
1. Cannabis-derived medications are known to increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior in patients taking these medications.
2. THC can trigger Cannabis-Induced Psychosis (CIP). Many studies have confirmed that the risk of suicide in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) is high (delusions, self-harm, command voices).
3. CIP (early age of onset, high frequency, high potency), can trigger schizophrenia. Suicide is the largest contributor to the decreased life expectancy in individuals with schizophrenia.
4. THC use can lead to the onset of mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety. There is a high rate of suicide in individuals with mental illness.
5. THC use can lead to the decrease of serotonin, a neurotransmitter found to be lower in the spinal fluid of persons who died by suicide
