ABOUT THE BOOK
In this book, ten authors tell their stories of how they experienced Cannabis-Induced Psychosis.
CIP AND ME pulls back the curtain on a crisis that too often goes unnamed. Told through the voices of young people who’ve lived through psychosis, this book offers an unflinching look at how high-potency THC can fracture lives and upend futures. Young people walk us through the hardest moments of their lives as their minds unravel. They detail their experiences and search for help in a system with few answers. The authors reflect on what it felt like to lose touch with reality and how they found their way back.
This book is compiled by Laura Stack, the Founder & CEO of the nonprofit, Johnny’s Ambassadors, as an educational endeavor to raise public awareness of the dangers of youth THC use.
Many people do not believe THC can trigger psychotic episodes. They blame psychosis on genetics or schizophrenia. Cannabis-Induced Psychosis is real. It happened to them.
Compiled by Laura Stack
Written by Johnny’s Ambassadors
CIP AND ME: How Cannabis-Induced Psychosis Ruined My Mind and My Life, and How I Came Out the Other Side
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“Instead of improving my world, marijuana, including synthetically processed THC products, destroyed positive elements of my youth – the ingredients for a happy, successful life.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“As my consumption increased and the marijuana became more potent—its negative impacts on my life became more severe.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“Weed replaced proper meals, and I became a skeleton of the person I once was—physically, mentally, and emotionally. I was not just losing weight; I was losing myself.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“If I continued using cannabis, I would lose my fiancée, my family, my happiness, my freedom, and eventually my life.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“Cannabis alone triggered my painful, terrifying journey, opening a door in my brain that could never be fully shut again.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“Through the intensive outpatient program, I realized that I could move forward. I was not permanently condemned to the past.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“My relationship with weed became progressively more toxic and dangerous. I became paranoid about my friends and parents.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“Marijuana was fully integrated into my life. I smoked daily for five years and multiple times a day for an additional six years, triggering psychosis and bipolar disorder.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“Weed did not help me break out of my shell; it pushed me further inward—and not in a good reflective way.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
“I still teetered back and forth between drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Each time I reintroduced cannabis into my life, my mental health worsened.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnykstack
For posting to Facebook/Instagram:
“Instead of improving my world, marijuana, including synthetically processed THC products, destroyed positive elements of my youth – the ingredients for a happy, successful life.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“As my consumption increased and the marijuana became more potent—its negative impacts on my life became more severe.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“Weed replaced proper meals, and I became a skeleton of the person I once was—physically, mentally, and emotionally. I was not just losing weight; I was losing myself.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“If I continued using cannabis, I would lose my fiancée, my family, my happiness, my freedom, and eventually my life.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“Cannabis alone triggered my painful, terrifying journey, opening a door in my brain that could never be fully shut again.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“Through the intensive outpatient program, I realized that I could move forward. I was not permanently condemned to the past.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“My relationship with weed became progressively more toxic and dangerous. I became paranoid about my friends and parents.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“Marijuana was fully integrated into my life. I smoked daily for five years and multiple times a day for an additional six years, triggering psychosis and bipolar disorder.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“Weed did not help me break out of my shell; it pushed me further inward—and not in a good reflective way.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
“I still teetered back and forth between drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Each time I reintroduced cannabis into my life, my mental health worsened.” CIP AND ME, johnnysambassadors.org/CIPbook #johnnysambassadors @johnnysambassadors
About Laura Stack
The true stories in this book, compiled by Laura Stack, were written by ten individuals who experienced cannabis-induced psychosis.
Laura Stack is Johnny Stack’s mom and the Founder & CEO of the nonprofit, Johnny’s Ambassadors Youth THC Prevention. In the business world, Laura was known by her professional moniker, The Productivity Pro®. For over thirty years, she was a Hall-of-Fame professional speaker, corporate spokesperson for many major brands, and bestselling author of eight previous books on employee productivity.
On November 20, 2019, Laura suddenly acquired the undesired wisdom of knowing what it’s like to lose one’s child. Her nineteen-year-old son, Johnny, died by suicide after becoming psychotic from dabbing high-potency THC concentrates.
Laura’s world took a one-eighty. She filed for and received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status for Johnny’s Ambassadors, Inc., with the mission to educate teens, parents, and communities about the dangers of today’s potent THC products (marijuana, dabs, vapes, edibles)—youth addiction, effects on adolescent
brain development, and mental illness—through school assemblies, educational resources, and conference presentations.
Laura wrote the bestselling book about Johnny’s life and death story, The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story. Her second volume on the subject, The Impact of THC on
Our Children: A Parent’s Worst Nightmare, amplifies the voices of other parents whose children have experienced CIP.
Described as a woman with unstoppable drive and unwavering purpose, Laura hopes to help other teens, parents, and all adults with teens in their lives by honestly and boldly sharing Johnny’s story of his high-potency marijuana addiction, psychosis, and suicide.
The devastating loss of her child gives Laura a powerful voice and a platform for change. Laura sees it as her responsibility to share Johnny’s warning to prevent other families from having to go through what she did and save other young lives from the harms of marijuana.
Laura now travels around the US with her husband, speaking at school assemblies and prevention conferences. Her platform brings education about youth THC use, mental illness, and suicide. She presents in-person and virtual keynotes, breakout sessions, and training for parents, teens, schools, anti-
drug coalitions, communities, and healthcare and government agencies.
In July 2026, Laura testified at hearings conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration for the US Department of Justice regarding the proposed rescheduling of all recreational marijuana. She spoke against it being moved from a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act to a Schedule III substance. Laura is the recipient of the Drug-Free America Foundation’s Moxie Award for protecting youth from substances, the Leadership in Advocacy Award from the National Speakers Association, and the American Association of Suicidology’s Loss Survivor of the Year Award. Johnny’s story has been told
in People Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and on PBS and Dr. Phil.
By sharing Johnny’s own warning about marijuana, “Marijuana has ruined my mind and my life,” Laura is determined to start a movement to bring teen marijuana use, mental illness, and suicide into the spotlight. There are now over 20,000 Johnny’s Ambassadors around the world who share their stories
and education to save others.
Laura lives with her husband, John, in south Denver, Colorado, and has two surviving adult children and two grandsons.
“Forge ahead despite your pain and give meaning to your loss.”
– Laura Stack
Book Details
- Publisher: Johnny’s Ambassadors Publishing ©2026
- Language: English
- Paperback: 122 pages
- ISBN: 9798192550564
Chapter Outline:
- Marijuana, the Mafia, and a Mind-Reading Jesus
- A Champion Derailed, Detained—But Not Defeated
- Lost and Found
- The Story I Didn’t Plan, The Life I Couldn’t Imagine
- From Hell to Hollywood
- An Unreliable Narrator
- Breaking Up with Weed
- Risky Business
- Identity Crisis
- Silver Linings Playbook
Parent Testimonials
This Cannabis-Induced Psychosis series shares real stories from parents whose children have been harmed by the use of THC products (marijuana, vapes, dabs, edibles). Click on each video to watch the episode and read the transcripts.
** All proceeds of the sale of this book go to Johnny’s Ambassadors, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Colorado.**
Watch Cannabis-Induced Psychosis: A Silent Epidemic documentary.
CIP & Me Electronic Press Kit
