Parents – Get Help for Your Child

If your child is suicidal, it’s a medical emergency. Please CALL 911 for medical personnel or 988 for mental health personnel. If your child is in psychosis or mania, take him/her to the Emergency Room!

I just found out my child is using marijuana! Now what? What do I do? This is the question Johnny’s Ambassadors receives most frequently. Perhaps you’re just now realizing your child’s mental illness, depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, or psychosis could have been triggered from high-potency THC products, such as vapes, dabs, or edibles. We are so sorry this is happening to your child. It happened to my son, too. Johnny became psychotic after dabbing and thought the mob was after him. He ended his life at 19 years old. There wasn’t a Johnny’s Ambassadors, and we didn’t know what to do or where to turn. Now, we are here to support you. Johnny’s Ambassadors provides education and prevention resources to help you understand what is happening to your child.

Importantly, we are not a crisis center and don’t provide intervention or treatment services. However, we are happy to provide this list of resources to help you locate help for your child.

If you need to get help for your child who is addicted to marijuana, having mental health challenges, or is in psychosis, click the “Find Treatment Near You” button below. On this page, we have listed mental health care locators and treatment centers that understand cannabis-use disorder (CUD) and cannabis-induced psychosis (CIP). Being listed on this page does not imply an endorsement or recommendation from Johnny’s Ambassadors. Since we do not know your child and aren’t clinicians, we can’t provide a recommendation to a particular center. It is your responsibility to call the center and determine proper fit along with your child’s doctor.

Find Treatment Near You

More thoughts from Aaron Weiner, a member of Johnny’s Ambassadors Scientific Advisory Board:

  • Find out why: it’s important to understand why your child was using marijuana to inform how to stop them from using it in the future. If you don’t solve the “why” another way, they’re likely to go back, if not now than once they leave home for college or work
  • Consider testing for THC, as well as performing random drug tests in the future.  It’s important health information to know what else your child might be using, particularly nicotine, opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulant medication, and cocaine.  Depending on your relationship and situation with your child, drug screens may also be helpful to regain trust, as well as give your child a valid excuse to decline use if around other teens who are using marijuana (“I can’t – my parents drug test me”).
  • Work with a therapist, or a treatment program.  Depending on how serious the substance use is, your child may benefit significantly from receiving counseling.  Don’t hesitate to work with therapists – both you and your child will likely grow positively as a result!
  • Find a therapist who is:
    * Licensed and certified
    * Master’s level +
    * LCSW, LPC, MAC
    * CAC (Certified Addictions Counselor
    * Check their collateral material and history
    * Make sure they do toxicology (urine) screens

HELPFUL RESOURCES

Follow our Social Media Networks. Join our regular Facebook prevention group if your child is addicted, our Parents of Children with Cannabis-Induced Psychosis (POCCIP) group if your child is in psychosis, and our THC death group if you lost your child due to THC outcomes. Find us on Instagram. Find us on X. Find Laura on LinkedIn.

Join Our Parent Support Group. First, we invite you to join our monthly Johnny’s Ambassadors Parents of Children with Cannabis-Induced Psychosis (POCCIP) support group for parents who have children addicted to marijuana or in psychosis/mental illness. We meet monthly on video for fellowship and education. Second, register for our online marijuana prevention community. State your child has psychosis, and you’ll be placed in the Parents of Children with CIP discussion group. I will also add you to our mailing list and support group email list.

Read Our Books. Johnny’s Ambassadors Publications has two books, The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story, which tells Johnny’s story and provides important research and education to understand what is happening with your child. And The Impact of THC on Our Children: A Parent’s Worst Nightmare is written by 25 of our parents, sharing their tragic stories of their child’s THC use.

Reach Out To Your State Coordinator. Go to this page to locate your state coordinator and reach out to introduce yourself. That person will listen to your story and make sure you’re plugged into the right resources.

Read Our Frequently-Asked Questions Page. Here is a list of the most frequently-asked questions we get.

Educate Yourself. To start understanding the link between youth THC use, addiction, mental illness, and Cannabis-Induced Psychosis, read these one-pagers and watch these videos to start. Here is a link to our research database.

Locate Help for Your Child
Addiction Center – search for rehab providers in your area
Association of Intervention Specialists – a network of interventionists located throughout the country and abroad. Members guide families on how to help their loved one.
Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE) – serves college-based students in recovery and their families
ATLAS (Addiction Treatment Locator, Assessment, and Standards) platform by Shatterproof
Colorado Crisis Services provides 24/7 support and referrals for your loved one.
Directory of providers and educational consultants to help place and transport your teen.
Early Psychosis Intervention Network – clinics in 17 states
Find a therapist near you – Psychology Today locator
Find Treatment anywhere in the U.S.
Herren Project – free support in locating help for your child
Initiating Court-Ordered Treatment – Inpatient, Outpatient and Emergency Hospitalization Standards by State
Love in Action Intervention Services – immediate crisis support for psychosis and marijuana use
NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness – find a chapter near you. Many chapters have pro-bono attorneys to advise you on petitioning for a court-ordered guardianship of your child.
National early psychosis treatment locator for early serious mental illness treatment facilities (SAMHSA).
National Rehab Hotline – dedicated helpline to find local addiction or mental health resources for free.
Parent Helpline: 855-DRUGFREE (855-378-4373) Monday-Friday, 10:00AM to 6:00PM ET
Parents Love Their Teens is a nationwide intervention and placement program.
Parents’ Universal Resource Experts – helping parents of difficult teens find a therapeutic boarding school
Resources for Families Coping with Mental and Substance Use Disorders – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Second Wind Fund: expedited access to life-saving therapy for youth at risk for suicide
StartYourRecovery.org – support for overcoming substance misuse
States with Mandatory (Involuntary) Addiction Treatment laws – In 37 US states, there are laws in place that can facilitate the involuntary rehab of someone struggling with marijuana addiction but unwilling to ask for help.
The Juvenile Assessment Center is an early intervention locator for Colorado.
Treatment Advocacy Center – Know the laws in your state to get emergency help for your love one with a mental illness crisis.
Wilderness Therapy and Residential Treatment Search Support – This support group is for parents searching for out-of-home options such as residential treatment or wilderness therapy for their struggling preteen-young adult child. 

Find Support for Your Child
Clear30 – Digital Cannabis Intervention – quit THC in 30 days app. Text CLEAR30 to 60217.
Collegiate Recovery Directory – to find and connect with collegiate recovery programs that can support them and their family members. 
Find an Alternative Peer Group (APG) – support group for kids in recovery
Find a Marijuana Anonymous meeting – like AA but for marijuana addicts wanting to cut back or stop
Find a Recovery High School – transfer your child to attend school with others working to be sober.
5280 high school in Denver accepts students from all over the country to be in a public school where they are supported in their recovery.
FullCircle – For youth struggling with high-risk behavior problems. Centered around the Enthusiastic Sobriety Philosophy: the idea that young people will stop their self-destructive behavior only if they are offered an alternative that is both fun and fulfilling. Operates a staff facilitated support group for young people and their parents. Denver, Phoenix, Georgia, Kansas City. In Denver, Call Ben Stincer at 720-531-3716.
Johnny’s Ambassadors Online THC Self-Paced curriculum – 8 modules to teach about the harms of youth THC use.
Job Corps – 16 to 24-year-olds ready to work toward a successful future are welcome. Applicants must meet one or more of these conditions: receives public assistance, earns poverty-level income, is homeless, is a foster child, or qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. 
Maudsley Learning Cannabis Clinic for Psychosis – a self-directed online course through our partners in London to learn about the connection between THC and psychosis. To enroll your child send an email to [email protected]. The system will respond with login instructions.
Mental Health Webinars – learn about mental health and well-being
Neuropsychological testing – Dr. David Forstat in Florida
Reddit support community of 350,000+ trying to quit THC
Sober AF Entertainment – Creating safe spaces in fun places. Voice of the community looking for sober fun, without being around marijuana.
THC 101 – those in trouble legally with the law with violations such as marijuana possession, selling marijuana, or drugged driving.
Young Adult Cannabis Recovery Support Meeting – This support meeting is for individuals, ages 18 – 35, who have struggled with a cannabis use disorder (CUD), cannabis-induced psychosis (CIP), or cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). This meeting will be held online on the 2nd Wednesday of the month starting August 14, 2024, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm Central Time.

Find Support for Yourself
Advanced Adolescent Services provides teen transport services to treatment programs.
After Your Child’s Suicide Attempt – one-hour film by Zero Suicide
Cannabis & Psychosis Carer’s Group – our partners in the UK – monthly support group. Send an email to [email protected] to join.
Co-Dependents Anonymous – 12 step programs helping you develop healthy relationships
CRAFT classes help parents who are struggling with their child’s substance misuse and looking for support and change.
Douglas County, CO Wrap-Around is a free program to solve family problems.
Families Anonymous – 12-step program for families of those struggling with substance use disorders
Harris Project – Understand Co-occurring disorders (substance use and mental health)
Helping Parents Heal provides community and resources to help you heal.
Hopestream Community – a collection of support and educational services for parents of children struggling with substance use.
Johnny’s Ambassadors – Join our private 1500+ Parents of Children with Cannabis-Induced Psychosis (POCCIP) Facebook support group.
Invitation to Change – helps you understand addiction and strengthen the connection with your child
LEAP Family Network – Center on Anosognosia. Get help from a LEAP trained family member
LEAP Institute – for family members to help a loved one with serious mental illness who doesn’t believe they are ill
Marijuana Resource Center from the Partnership to End Addiction
MomPower helps moms with addicted children.
NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 8-session educational program for family, significant others, and friends of people with mental health conditions.
NAMI Orange County ask an expert
National Shattering the Silence Caregiver Support Group – for caregivers of a loved one living with a serious mental illness
Other Parents Like Me – an online parent to parent support community designed for parents of teens struggling with mental health issues.
Partnership to End Addiction (includes bi-lingual Spanish-speaking assistance) provides resources to help change the family dynamic and how to support a child with addiction. They can help you assess how worried you should be and offer up to five free one-on-one parent coaching sessions.
Psychosis REACH – evidence-based skills that are rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Schizophrenia and Psychosis Action Alliance – advocates for people with schizophrenia
STEP Learning Collaborative – access to virtual trainings and resources for individuals, providers, and families on topics relating to recent onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders
STEP Family and Community Workshops – workshops dedicated to self-care for caregivers
Reach Out For Change – free evidence-based classes for parents on how to improve communication and move your child toward treatment for substance use.
Three Moms in the Trenches – all have children with schizophrenia

Allied Organizations You Might Wish to Join
Angry Moms – advocating for the safe use of clozapine for loved ones
Bipolar SMI Family Education and Advocacy Group – A guided and moderated Education and Advocacy group for Caregivers who have loved ones with a Serious Mental Illness (SMI): Bipolar, Schizoaffective, or Schizophrenia.
Comprehensive Understanding via Research and Education into Schizophrenia Foundation
(CURESZ) – Reconceptualizing schizophrenia as a treatable brain disorder. Engaging in mentoring programs for family members providing caregiving for a loved one with schizophrenia as well as providing support groups for those with living experience in serious mental disorders.
Every Brain Matters – offers family support meetings and resources
Mar-Anon – this is the marijuana equivalent of Al-Anon, which is a support group for those affected by another’s marijuana use. This is is NOT a meeting for current marijuana users themselves. Email [email protected] with questions. There are multiple virtual support meetings every week.
Mothers of the Mentally Ill (MOMI)-  Advocating for change to improve the lives of people with the most severe and disabling mental illness conditions and the lives of the people who love them.
National Shattering the Silence Coalition – A nonpartisan alliance of family members, individuals suffering from serious brain disorders (SBDs), professionals in the trenches, and caring people, all united to ensure brain illness, health, and criminal justice systems count those with SBDs, and their families in all federal, state, and local policy reforms.
Parent Action Network (PAN) – a division of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) for those interested in policy and legalization issues. Empowering those having experiences with a loved one’s marijuana use to advocate for healthy drug policies in their states.
Schizophrenia and Psychosis Action Alliance (S&PAA) – Shattering barriers to treatment, survival, and recovery. Support group options.
Team Daniel – advocates for and supports people living with mental illness and promote meaningful recovery from psychosis
Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) – join their efforts to secure treatment in your state for those with severe mental illness

Intervention Partners
Need help getting your adult child into treatment? Not sure what center is right for your child? We have trusted professional intervention partners, who will provide a free consultation to give you advice and share how they can help:
* Jay Avery, (949) 326-3497, [email protected], www.stonebridgerecovery.com
* Richard Casey, Robinson & Casey attorneys helped one of our members get their son treatment under the Marchman Act through their office. You must take your child to FL.
* Jordan DeHann, (407) 620-9003, email [email protected], www.therecoveryguides.com
* Ryan Silberberg, The Sage Collaborative, 949-929-1452. Several members have used him.

Toolkits
ImpACT for Adolescents – Dr. Christian Thurstone
Marijuana Talk Kit
Marijuana Talk Kit from the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids
Mind Over Matter – CA Dept. of Education
National Institute on Drug Abuse – Marijuana Facts for Parents
Preventing Marijuana Use Among Youth
Short Guide to Psychiatric Drugs
Substance Use Prevention Education
Treatment e-book – Partnership for Drug-Free kids

Peer-to-Peer Mentors. If your child is using marijuana or is in psychosis, and he/she doesn’t believe marijuana is the cause of their problems, our young adult mentors are willing to have a 1-on-1 conversation with your child. These conversations should NOT be considered treatment advice, simply support. Our peer mentors have all been through marijuana psychosis and have come out the other side. They now volunteer with Johnny’s Ambassadors to talk to youth about how they were harmed and encourage them to stop using. Talk to your child to get their buy-in to receive a phone call. If your child is an adult (18+), she or he must email me directly to request support. If your child is a minor, first have a conversation with your child to secure permission for a mentor to call. We can’t call your child out of the blue, as that is uncomfortable for our mentors. Once you have secured agreement from your child, email [email protected] with your request. Send your child’s name, cell phone number, age, and pertinent information on what’s happening. I will refer you to a suitable mentor to arrange a conversation.

Peer marijuana cessation group for young adults. If your adult child (age 18+) is interested in reducing or eliminating marijuana usage, we have a partnership with famed London cannabis researchers, Marti di Forti and Sir Robin Murray to allow Johnny’s Ambassadors to join their peer group. Meetings for marijuana users ONLY (no parents) are held on Tuesdays at 9am mountain/11am eastern. Please email me at [email protected] for more information on this program. Or if your child is under 25 and wishes to quit marijuana, the San Diego district of Marijuana Anonymous also has a meeting for young people. See the “Next Step in Life” group and send an email to [email protected] for the password.

Grieving resources for those who have lost a child
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – find a suicide bereavement support group near you
Download Holiday Tribute Graphics
GriefShare meetings really helped us grieve the loss after Johnny’s death.
Johnny’s Ambassadors THC loss Facebook group. Join our other grieving parents.
Life after Child Loss: The Mother’s Survival Guide to Cope and Find Joy
List of recommended grief books by Anne Moss Rogers.
Samaritans – Preventing Suicide – Samaritans works to prevent suicide and support those who have lost someone to suicide.
The Compassionate Friends supports the entire family after a child dies.
Umbrella Ministries helps mothers through the grief of losing a child.

Reading
Balm: The Loving Path to Family Recovery by Beverly Buncher
Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change by Jeffrey Foote
The Body of Chris: A Memoir of Obsession, Addiction, and Madness by Chris Cole
Broken Pieces and the God Who Mends Them: Schizophrenia through a Mother’s Eyes by Simonetta Carr
Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program for Cannabis Use Cessation in First-Episode Psychosis Patients: A 1-Year Randomized Controlled Trial
Difficult: Mothering Challenging Adult Children by Judith R. Smith
The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story by Laura Stack
Easy Way to Quit Cannabis: Regain Your Drive, Health and Happiness by Allen Carr
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help! How to Help Someone with Mental Illness Accept Treatment (LEAP Method) by Xavier Amador 
Loving Someone with Suicidal Thoughts by Stacey Freedenthal
Straight Talk About Living with a Severe Mental Illness by Darrell Herrmann
The Impact of THC on Our Children written by 25 Johnny’s Ambassadors parents and compiled by Laura Stack
Smokescreen: What the Marijuana Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know by Kevin Sabet
The NeuroWhereAbouts Guide: A Neurodevelopmental Guide for Parents and Families Who Want to Prevent Youth High-Risk Behavior by Crystal Collier, Ph.D.
Quitting Weed: the Complete Guide by Matthew Clarke
Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children by Allison Bottke
The Teenage Brain by Frances Jensen
Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence book by Alex Berenson
Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction by Maia Szalavitz
When the Solution Becomes the Problem: Helping Families Struggling with Addiction and Trauma by Michael Barnes

Videos
Family First Intervention – helping families understand how they can help save their loved one from addiction
First Episode Psychosis Webinar Series & Learning Community – Mid-America MHTTC
Lessons Learned From 40 Years Of Living With and Advocating For A Psychotic Illness
Making Sense of Psychosis – Marin County series with Dr. Douglas Turkington
Motivational Interviewing for Parents – teaches you a communication style to have better conversations with your teen or young adult
STEP Learning Collaborative – Psychosis webinars and Tip sheets
Substance Use and & Psychosis: Interventions for Intertwined Issues – the Association for Addiction Professionals
Things Not to Say to Someone with Schizophrenia – BBC

Tools
Different types of guardianships you can get when your child is an adult (laws will vary by state – contact a lawyer if your child is mentally ill and unable to make good decisions)
Johnny’s Ambassadors online teen and adult marijuana training
Sobriety apps from the Drug Enforcement Agency
Teen Marijuana “FACT” or “CRAP” game
Top Ten Teen Toking Tip-Offs
You Know Nothing About Weed
Watch our on-demand videos from our Johnny’s Ambassadors Expert Webinar Series for Parents.
Wellness Recovery Action Plan

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