Episode 1: He is a Different Boy
“Your son has Cannabis-Induced Psychosis,” said my son’s psychologist. That was in 2021, just two weeks before his 18th birthday, during his senior year in high school.
His initial symptoms were delusions of grandeur. He was going to change to world with his music because of the special vibrations in his hands, which he covered with a glove.
Over the next six months, our world shattered into pieces when suddenly all forms of psychosis became apparent in him. He experienced visual and auditory hallucinations, religious delusions, severe self-harm, a desire to become homeless, feelings of superpowers, days without sleeping, and suicidal ideations, to name a few. We were devastated and couldn’t do anything about it because he had turned 18. It felt like we were wearing a straitjacket of fear.
He was hospitalized four times. Each time, we begged them to keep him and help him, only to watch helplessly when they released him after three days. Finally, on the fifth hospitalization, they deemed him gravely disabled. The county conserved him, which forced him into treatment and medication compliance.
I wish that was our happy ending, but it was just the beginning of the devastating grief that comes from watching your sweet boy have his brain hijacked from THC. Nothing was helping his psychosis. Even six months of sobriety didn’t pull him out. Were we ever going to get him back? After months of failed medications, we finally found the right combination of clozapine and Abilify, and we started seeing glimpses of our boy again.
We are now almost three years down the road, 36 different types of medications. 349 days of actual hospitalizations, ten treatment centers in three states, five horrifying disappearances, and ten relapses. I’m happy to say my mom boxing gloves are on the shelf for now.
But he is a different boy. He has a serous diagnosis. He is recovering slowly and is still in treatment. But he finally has insight and is med compliant. He recognizes that he can’t touch THC ever again. He has gained much wisdom and now writes songs about his journey. He is still our sweet boy whom we love dearly.
This did not have to happen if he hadn’t started using THC products. Please know that Cannabis-Induced Psychosis is REAL. It happened to my child. Educate your child on the harms of THC at JohnnysAmbassadors.org.
Episode 2: A Truly Horrible Drug
I knew weed wasn’t good for the brain. I was never interested in it, nor wanted any of my children to use it. But until three months ago, I had no idea how truly horrible this drug was.
My 18-year-old son used to be social, funny, outgoing, and a fabulous athlete, until a friend at school gave him a THC vape. At first, I had no idea. But he quit sports, became socially withdrawn, and started to struggle with school.
I discovered his vape use and naturally attempted to get him to stop. He began to get in trouble with the law and exhibit strange behaviors.
When this happened, it was devastating. But I attributed these behaviors to being high. I created consequences, set boundaries, practiced tough love, and prayed that my son outgrow this “phase” and eventually give up marijuana.
I wish I knew then that the THC was actually damaging his brain, but the addiction for profit industry does a pretty good job of convincing the public that marijuana is a playful, innocuous drug.
Let me tell you, it’s not.
My son was struggling to hold a job, arguing with me and his siblings, withdrawing from activities, and having a hard time doing basic tasks he’d never struggled with before. When wouldn’t even come out of his room to celebrate Christmas, I knew something terribly wrong, but it was worse than I’d ever imagined.
After a horrible, scary episode, I took dramatic action to force my son to be seen at the hospital, where he was diagnosed with Cannabis Induced Psychosis.
I had never heard of it!
My son’s brain has been damaged, and even though he is now totally clean from marijuana, and any other drug for that matter, he suffers from the horrible symptoms of this heartbreaking condition: paranoia, confusion, hallucinations, jumbled speech, and cognitive impairment, just to name a few.
I wouldn’t wish this journey on my worst enemy.
Cannabis Induced Psychosis is REAL. It happened to my child. Educate your child on the harms of THC at JohnnysAmbassadors.org.
Episode 3: CIP Has Devastated our Lives
In 2018 I celebrated the graduation of my first-born son, who was an Eagle Scout and honors student. Little did I know, he had begun using marijuana to deal with his social anxiety as he entered college.
When he came home for Thanksgiving break his sophomore year, I noticed changes in his behavior. He was irritable and aggressive, but I was unaware he was using THC products until he admitted to his physician he was smoking weed.
When he came from for Christmas break, he started using THC daily. He experienced his first psychotic break and was hospitalized. He only tested positive for THC. He was discharged on a small dose of antipsychotic medication. I allowed him to return to college, not then realizing the connection to THC and Cannabis-Induced Psychosis or CIP.
Then, COVID happened, and he came home and got a job. There was a vape and smoke shop near our home, and he started using the Delta 8 THC products sold there, which are chemically derived from hemp. He soon became addicted, which led to severe personality changes. He was again admitted to the hospital and then an intensive outpatient program.
He returned to college the following semester. However, he failed, because his continued use of THC products caused memory issues, confusion, and a decrease in his cognitive abilities. So, he had to leave school.
He tried to work, but he just spent most of his paychecks at the local vape store, buying Delta 8 THC and CBD products, thinking they would help take his mind away from the psychotic symptoms he was now experiencing.
This led to a revolving door of hospitalizations, but none of them focused on his THC addiction or tried to get him to stop; they only concentrated on stabilizing him with medications.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis has devastated our lives. My son’s brain health has been severely damaged, and our family has been traumatized. I now live on edge, not knowing if my son will ever be mentally stable again.
I have not found any treatment programs that specialize or focus on CIP that are affordable or insurance will pay for. I have gone into debt, sending him to out of state programs in hopes that his brain will have a chance to heal. My son has still not grasped the fact that THC products are the cause of his brain creating his false reality.
Today, doctors diagnose him as schizophrenic, but typical antipsychotics don’t take away the damage caused by the THC products. My son is 24 years old and living in his own private hell. All because he started smoking weed. I wish legislators would understand the danger of all THC products, natural and synthetic, on developing brains.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis is REAL. It happened to my child. Educate your child on the harms of THC at JohnnysAmbassadors.org.
Episode 4: We Were Absolutely Blindsided
Hi, I’m here to speak to you, parent to parent, about our family’s story with THC.
When my son developed severe cannabis use disorder at 18 and cannabis-induced psychosis at 21, we were absolutely blindsided. We didn’t have the science, education, or resources that exist today and had no idea how addictive THC is.
As a mom raising two active boys in a tight knit community, I focused on school, sports, and friends, just normal things parents devote time to. Never did it cross my mind to educate myself on THC.
In fall 2018, my oldest son—athletic, intelligent, and sober—started college in Washington, D.C. with a full class load and a senate internship. Marijuana was legal and accessible, and that’s when everything changed. His new habit of high-potency THC quickly moved to addiction. THC was silently rewiring his brain, damaging critical neural pathways.
Several months into using, he experienced two brief but terrifying psychotic episodes. Despite those early scares, he continued his use, and his problems worsened. My son suffered severe cognitive decline — trouble concentrating, navigating campus, and even finding his bus stop. He failed out of college. He was wrongly diagnosed with ADHD, because heavy THC use mimics the cognitive and executive dysfunction that he was presenting to his medical provider.
In November 2021, after continuing to heavily use under the radar, he experienced a psychotic break. His reality now consisted of unrelenting hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. It was as if I was watching the slow death of my child.
The college student, the aspiring model, the champion go kart racer and gamer, the devoted older brother—was becoming unrecognizable.
He believed he was living in a simulation. He thought he had implants in his eyes, hands, and brain. He believed he was a fallen angel with broken wings. He had torturous noise in his head 24/7. He went days without food or sleep. He told us, “If they don’t stop, I’ll end my life by 22.” I cried daily with despair and helplessness as I saw the THC that caused his suffering became the only thing he thought could ease it.
After three involuntary hospitalizations and two years of residential treatment programs, we are still dealing with the aftermath.
The unintended consequences of using THC for anxiety, sleep, or recreation can—and often do—become permanent. He still struggles today. Our story doesn’t have an ending. Many young adults with no underlying mental illnesses are developing lifelong psychotic disorders.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis is REAL. It happened to my child. Educate your child on the harms of THC at JohnnysAmbassadors.org.
Episode 5: He is NOT the Same Person
Have you ever heard of Cannabis Induced Psychosis? Until 2 years ago, I had not. THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, caused devastating effects for our family. And I want you to become more educated about it, so you can avoid the same problem.
My son was a great student, in the top 7% of his class, National Honor Society, a fantastic musician, and Vice-President of his high school band. His use of THC started at age 22, after college graduation. He first ate chocolate infused with THC, and then he ate gummies, smoked cannabis, and eventually began vaping.
Within 8 months, he was using daily and was addicted. He developed irrational beliefs, delusions, and hallucinations, and his roommate began calling him psychotic. His behavior was so strange, we thought he might have schizophrenia. But our family has no history of mental illness, and he didn’t have pre-existing mental health issues.
He began seeing “signs” about his delusional beliefs, got involved with scammers, and gave all his money away, which is how we found out what was going on. We tried for 11 months to get him to seek help and finally resorted to using the Marchman Act in Florida to get him into treatment.
He was diagnosed with Cannabis-Induced Psychotic Disorder. He worked through a dual-diagnostic program for eight and a half months. His therapists told him he is lucky he did NOT convert to a long-term diagnosis, such as bipolar or schizophrenia. Time will tell, but he is NOT the same person he was prior to his THC addiction.
He never used any other drug except THC. He said he used THC because, in his own words, “It was ‘legalized’ by the loophole in the 2018 Federal Farm Bill.” He is, like many in our country, a victim of the cannabis industry’s long-existing misinformation campaign. The fact that cannabis causes psychotic symptoms has been known and written about since 1845.
Today’s high-potency THC products are very strong, psychoactive, and addictive. Millions are addicted and are left with devastating mental and physical effects, which taxes our already overwhelmed mental health systems and plays a role in increased violent crimes.
Please think about my son’s story BEFORE you start using and risk your own health and future. Your brain is worth infinitely more than the money the cannabis industry makes on your addiction. You are simply a dollar sign for the THC industry. They have no concern for the harm caused by their products.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis can happen to anyone: younger teens and older young adults, like my son, since your brain is forming into your late 20s.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis is REAL. It happened to my child. Educate your child on the harms of THC at JohnnysAmbassadors.org.
Episode 6: My Son was Deceived
When the Farm Bill of 2018 passed, the predatory addiction-for-profit industry used a loophole that allowed them to create psychoactive THC products from hemp. The industry markets these products as legal, natural, and safe to treat many ailments, even though they have not been FDA approved. They entice people, especially young people, with their deceptive tactics.
My son was deceived by this industry. He was a loving and productive young adult who never suffered from mental illness. He was committed to health and fitness and was hesitant to even use over the counter medicines. He graduated from high school and community college as a dual-credit honors student. Later, he went back to school and was about to complete his bachelor’s degree while doing freelance camera work for churches, corporate, and political events.
However, when he was 25, he started using potent THC products in the form of vapes, gummies, and even “lollipops.” While he was still highly functional, dependency was taking root and behaviors out of his character started to appear, until finally his life erupted in chaos when he was 27. He lost his job, his money, and worst of all, his reasoning capacity.
For almost two years, he has experienced psychotic symptoms including paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations. He lacks awareness of his condition, so we haven’t been able to get him the treatment he needs.
After being abstinent from THC for almost a year, he started to slowly improve. Unfortunately, a few months ago, he got ahold of a THC vape and relapsed. Immediately his symptoms worsened.
Before using THC, his background was impeccable, and his work allowed him to be in front of several U.S. presidents. Now, he has had several police encounters. Before, he was a dual-credit honors student, and now he has a frightening dual-prognosis of THC addiction and mental illness.
However, we have faith that with proper care and abstinence from THC, our son will regain his health and recover.
All this harm could have been avoided had he not used THC to begin with. But the marijuana industry continues to deceive young adults, whose brains are forming up to 30 years old.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis is REAL. It happened to my child. Educate your child on the harms of THC at JohnnysAmbassadors.org.
Episode 7: It was Like a Switch was Flipped
Let’s talk about Cannabis-Induced Psychosis. Many people say, “It’s only weed. It’s harmless!” Three years ago, I believed that too. I didn’t know the marijuana industry had re-engineered the plant to be super potent. In my day, weed had 2 to 3% THC, which is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Now, flower averages 20% in dispensaries, and it can be up to 40% THC potency. Even worse, THC products such as vapes, concentrates, and edibles can be nearly pure THC.
Unbeknownst to us, my wonderful son, who was handsome, smart, popular, athletic, and at the top of his class academically, began smoking weed with his friends in his late teens. They were the smart, nerdy crowd we never worried about. One of them found a dealer and bought marijuana, which they all smoked together, just for “fun.”
One day, out of the blue, my son snapped. It was like a switch was flipped, and he had seemingly lost his mind. I thought someone had slipped him LSD or some other hard drug. I figured he would sober up and be fine the next day. He wasn’t. He was in psychosis, caused by the THC in the marijuana, and it was horrific. He was extremely confused, paranoid, and terrified. He had strange delusions that he truly believed were real.
At the hospital, lab tests confirmed there was only THC in his system. The doctors told us they saw young people in psychosis every day due to easy access to marijuana on every street corner, and Delta-8-THC products made from hemp are readily available in smoke shops and gas stations.
Some people claim to use these products as “medicine,” but there are NO FDA approved products sold in a dispensary. Today’s high potency THC products are extremely toxic to the developing brain. Of course, the predatory addiction-for-profit marijuana industry doesn’t share this warning with its customers.
Fortunately for you, now you know. Unfortunately for me and thousands of other moms, we are dealing with the aftermath. We are now sharing the horrific stories of what has happened to our loved ones.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis has had devastating effects on our children and our entire families. Once he stopped using marijuana, it took my son a full year to recover from the brain damage THC caused. I thank God he did recover.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis is REAL. It happened to my child. Educate your child on the harms of THC at JohnnysAmbassadors.org.
Episode 8: The Damage is Done
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis — those three words — changed my happy, normal life and the lives of my three children into a constant trauma.
My name is Jennifer Kelchner, and my 27-year-old son is, hopefully, healing from cannabis-induced psychosis.
Danny was once a blessing. He had a loving home — a mom, a dad, two sets of doting grandparents. At four years old, he could locate every country on a map. He loved books, sports, biking to Valley Forge Park with his dad. He was in AP and honor classes and was a varsity football captain. He was witty, kind, and had big dreams.
At 14, he tried THC for the first time . Over time, he used more. Still, he kept it together and attended college. But then tragedy struck — Danny’s dad, my husband, died suddenly. He was devastated and couldn’t sleep, was anxious, and trusted adults — including a doctor — told him to get a medical marijuana card. Wanting to better himself, Danny listened. This decision would change the course of all our lives forever.
Soon after, he had his first psychotic break. He came home paranoid, filthy, convinced the Taliban was after him. He hadn’t slept in a week and was manic. He believed a helicopter would land in our yard to fund a business that didn’t exist. We had to call 911 to get help.
Since then, Danny has been in and out of hospitals 13 times. In and out of therapy, jail, and homeless — heavily medicated, and is now diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. There’s no family history of either.
He’s now on Medicaid, food stamps, disability. He’s needed police, courts, psychiatrists, inpatient and outpatient care, and now $10,000 in dental work — all paid by the state and me. His two brothers and I are in therapy just to cope with this new version of him. How much more will it cost all of us? How many more Dannys are there?
Danny has been sober for almost 2 years, but the damage is done. My once athletic 185-pound son now weighs over 300 pounds, lives with me, and requires daily reminders to do basic tasks like shower and brush his teeth.
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis is real. It happened to my child. Educate yourself on the harms of THC at johnnysambassadors.org.