West Hartford discussion with expert Laura Stack to address the topic : ‘How Today’s High Potency Marijuana Products Affect Teen Mental Health: What Every Adult Needs to Know.’

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Marijuana is legal so it must be safe, right? Maybe you’re thinking that today’s marijuana resembles what it was “in the good old days.” The reality is – marijuana has changed enormously since the 1980s and today’s lab-created high potency THC products can cause harmful impacts on adolescent brain development, mental illness, and suicide – facts that every parent, grandparent, educator, and community member need to know.

Education is the most powerful tool for both parents and students to prevent negative life outcomes and tragedies from high potency THC products. The West Hartford community can learn more about it from Laura Stack, a renowned speaker, Johnny Stack’s mom, and the Founder and CEO of Johnny’s Ambassadors Youth THC Prevention, on Monday, May 11 at 6 p.m. for a presentation at Bristow Middle School, located at 34 Highland Street.

Stack will talk about cannabis (THC) prevention, present awareness information, and share her personal story. A best-selling author of eight books, her world came crashing down, when her 19-year-old son, Johnny, died by suicide. Johnny had become psychotic from vaping and dabbing high-THC marijuana concentrates.

Johnny was a computer whiz with a 4.0 GPA, a perfect math score on the SAT, and a college scholarship until his THC use sabotaged his plans. Three days before his death, Johnny told his mom how using marijuana had ruined his mind and his life. By weaving Johnny’s story with current research, Stack hopes to help teens, their families, and their communities understand how using THC can cause harm.

By sharing Johnny’s own warning about marijuana, Stack is determined to start a movement to bring teen marijuana use, mental illness, and suicide into the spotlight and get them to #StopDabbing. A powerful speaker, she has presented to parents, concerned adults, educators, prevention advocates, law enforcement, and community groups. Additionally, she has given nearly 1,000 presentations to over 500,000 teens over the past five years. 

Registration is required to attend the May 11 event. Register at https://tinyurl.com/394x2xw8.

In addition to her evening presentation at Bristow Middle School, on May 12, Stack will speak to students on the topic of youth marijuana prevention at West Hartford’s three middle schools. Studies show that frequent marijuana use starting before age 15 leads to a 51% higher chance of mental health problems and an 86 % higher chance of physical health problems. Presenting an evidence-based, data-driven talk gives students the knowledge and skills they need to avoid using THC products (vapes, dabs, edibles, marijuana) can be impactful and lead to helpful conversations among peers and family members.

Stack’s presentations, organized by the West Hartford Prevention Partnership, with the support of West Hartford Public Schools, are being brought to the West Hartford community by a generous donation from a West Hartford parent who experienced the devastating consequences of high-potency cannabis when her college-aged son suffered a psychotic break. In her testimony to the General Assembly opposing AAC Cannabis Hemp and Infused Beverage Regulation (HB05350), this parent urged lawmakers to take evidence-based action. She talked about how her son – healthy, athletic, with no prior mental illness or genetic risk – developed cannabis-induced psychosis after prolonged use of high-THC dispensary products. Both legal and illicit ultra-high potency marijuana products are accessible to teenagers and young adults those at highest risk for use and for negative effects. His doctors were unequivocal: this illness would not have occurred without exposure to today’s high potency THC.

What began as casual college use escalated into dependence, addiction, psychosis, and a life-long psychiatric condition that has permanently altered the course of her son’s life and has impacted every facet of their family life. In a frantic search to make sense of what was happening, she discovered Johnny’s Ambassadors and Laura Stack’s work. Laura Stack and Johnny’s Ambassadors provided a lifeline to her and to thousands of families like hers. Evidence-based substance abuse prevention education is the most powerful tool, and this special presentation to the West Hartford community on May 11 will deliver exactly that – shining a spotlight on what every adult needs to know.

For more information about the West Hartford Prevention Partnership, visit Prevention – Town of West Hartford. For more information about Johnny’s Ambassadors, visit Youth THC Prevention | High-Potency Marijuana | Johnny’s Ambassadors.

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