Marni M. — February 18, 2021

I recently joined your page because I have a nephew, who died by suicide last year. Today he would have been 22 years old. He was very troubled his whole life, but his first drug abuse was high-potency marijuana. His parents supported this use, and he was hospitalized many times. In the earlier discharge papers the diagnosis was ‘poly substance abuse induced psychosis’ among other things. Although true, the marijuana lead to alcohol, meth, heroin, and basically anything he could get his hands on. I read your article in the Seattle Times and felt so relieved that SOMEONE made the connection. The psychosis appeared after marijuana, before the other substances began being abused. In addition, they medicated him with antipsychotic medication by injection, then released him back into the streets of Seattle multiple times. He never had a chance. His uncle and I played more of a role to help him more than anyone else. I blame myself for not being a better advocate for him. We would not let him stay with us because he was determined to be a danger to himself and others. He was obsessed with drugs and refused to abstain. We went to him to assist him in staying out of trouble and following his mental health requirements. We failed. Thank you for what you are doing. I read your page daily and am learning so much. I will help as much as I can.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *