Adam Maas

My son Adam suffers from cannabis use disorder and cannabis-induced psychosis. My husband and I worked hard to provide our kids with a loving and stable home.  Our son was born in 1995.  He did well in school.  He skied in the winter, swam in the summer, and always had friends.  In the spring of 2017, he came home from college with a math degree and a severe addiction to marijuana.  Almost a year later, he was hospitalized with his first psychotic break.  The only drug in his system was THC, and his medical team thought he might have bipolar disorder.

He continued to use marijuana and continued to have problems.  Two years later, he received a diagnosis of cannabis-induced psychosis.  That was two years wasted, not knowing marijuana was a factor in his mental health issues, and two years that his marijuana use was not addressed by his doctors.  At one point, it was even encouraged, perhaps because we live in Washington, a state that voted to legalize marijuana in 2012.

Since his diagnosis, he has had a couple of breaks from using marijuana.  Within a few weeks of not using it, he starts to come back to life.  He is engaged and starts to set goals.  The voices in his mind become manageable.  Currently, my husband and I need to present recovery options to our son, praying that he will choose help.  If not, he may end up being one more psychotic, drug-addicted guy on the street. Marijuana is not a harmless plant.  It is my son’s drug of choice, and it ruins his life.

QUOTE: Marijuana is not a harmless plant.  It is my son’s drug of choice, and it is ruining his life.”