Testimony #1: Medical Marijuana Card at 17, Followed by Psychosis
(The first of our anonymous testimonies about California’s dangerous medical marijuana program.) David’s father at 17 gave him permission for a medical marijuana card without consulting his mother. David also smoked the pot his father grew. This card gave David the right to walk into any one of the medical marijuana shops and purchase any one of the hundreds of genres out there. As you know they package what the client chooses in what looks like a prescription bottle and label it. Disgusting. These shops need to be closed.
David had gone to live with his father at 16-1/2 as his mother would not allow him to smoke or stay up all night playing video games. David had given no trouble until grade 10. He had always been an “A” student, proud of his schoolwork and wanted to go to Stanford, like his grandfather. (These dreams are now out the window. He smoked everyday for two years.
He did try college, however. At that time, he finally did succumb to completely psychotic behavior. His mother committed him to an addiction center. He had just turned 18 and left after three weeks in February. He did poorly and last summer was put on a 72-hour hold at a local hospital, through the emergency room.
The psychiatrist placed him on Depakote, diagnosing him as bi-polar. The doctor refused to return my daughter’s phone calls, even though David signed the HIPPA form. The therapist said the doctor would hold him for at least 10 days. However, he released him after the 72 hour-hold, which was over the weekend. We (his mother, father and grandparents) then got him to try a a dual diagnosis hospital which he left voluntarily. David ran away after 2 days and was talked into going back as we were all united that he couldn’t come home. He was so psychotic and making no sense at all. It was pathetic. He only stayed a few more days, and when threatening to run away again his father drove to Palm Springs and took him home. It has been almost 2 months without pot and he has gained back at least 7-8 pounds. His final weight loss was down to about 94 pounds. He is now living with us.
He seems to be normalizing psychologically. However, he is not the grandchild that I had before all this. He can hold intelligent conversations. But he has trouble keeping his attention span and many other things.
David attempted to renew his medical marijuana card over the Internet. He had transferred $50.00 from his high school account to the doctor’s office. Except for the fact that his father called and told the office that they were not to renew his card, he would have received one in the mail. This doctor hadn’t seen David since the initial time, in January 2014 and would have just renewed it. My daughter was so angry a few weeks ago she confronted the doctor who gave him the medical marijuana card. She made an appointment, went to his office and told him how he was hurting people and destroying their brains, etc. Like me, she is a nurse and was very professional with him. She had him sign a paper saying he would never see David again or give him a card. He was very contrite and signed the paper she wrote out and we have it in the safe.
He lost 20 pounds. He was only 113 to start, as he couldn’t eat with stomach pains, etc. He had been seeing a gastroenterologist for a medical condition he has had since age 8. He is now off pot and living with us. He says he will never use again. He claims he must not use pot and then he will be OK, We all know that it could change at any time. He has gained back 7-8 pounds since going off the pot.
The young developing brain cannot handle the THC. It destroys the frontal lobes and enlarges the ventricles, etc. We are very scared and trying our best to keep him calm and away from pot. We are trying to get him settled and hopefully back in college next semester, and into sports again. We have a long way to go.
We understand the medical marijuana can be up to 70% THC. Imagine a father signing for a medical marijuana card for a 16-year old. Imagine the doctor who gives it to him. These doctors are criminals to prescribe the THC to young developing brains. Adults have many neurological problems from smoking, also.
Your grandson may have become bipolar anyway. This usually happens around age 18. He may have used the pot to self medicate for the depression. If not pot, then it could have been over the counter drugs, wine or beer, etc. My daughter has suffered with some sort of depression for about 20 years, She has stomach issues as well. The depression can cause body aches, and stomach issues, it is a physical illness that effects the way the brain sends messages to the body. Her viibryd medication for depression also helped with her stomach issues. She used to throw up whenever she ate MSG, artificial coloring and flavors, hydrogenated oil, and GMO corn and potatoes. She also eats an organic diet to stay healthy now.
Please see the studies in the book, Anatomy of Epidemic. The author goes into studies which clearly show how drug use, and specifically marijuana, trigger manic episodes. Former First Lady of Canada Margaret Trudeau his clearly stated that all her manic episodes were preceded by heavy marijuana use. Some people are no longer bipolar after they go to rehab and quit all drugs. It is possible.