We saw you speak tonight. My son came up to you afterwards and chatted for a bit. Thank you so much for talking/listening to him. He said he ‘likes you a lot.’ We talked all the way home about what we learned from your talk. He got really quiet and then said “Mom, I’m done with pot. I won’t do it anymore.” From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for what you do. And from the bottom of my heart, I ache for your loss. When you described Johnny at 14 years old, I felt like you were describing my son. We are a Christian family, he is popular, he loves to serve others and enjoys being around the younger kids, and he also goes to IdraHaje. And he has been dabbing and vaping this whole freshman year. We found out about it a month ago. How did I not know? I feel like our family is fractured, and I can’t trust my child. I took his phone and laptop away – then found a burner phone and took that. He cannot be around friends outside of school, because they are all doing marijuana. I trust no one right now. I’m not sure I can send him back to his high school next year. So many decisions to make. I have been drug testing him, and so far he has been clean. Whether he is done with pot or not of course remains to be seen. But tonight felt good. Tonight I saw a glimpse of my old, friendly, sweet, talkative son. So I will take it. And I thank you. God Bless you and your family. I will remember Johnny always.
Saving Our Youth from the Harms of THC