Tragic Stories Reveal the True Dangers of Marijuana Use
In this country, at this time, there are millions of people who don’t want to think that marijuana is harmful. This group includes adult marijuana users; teens and young adults who use the drug, think they will probably use it or see nothing wrong with it; and those who profit from the sales of this drug.
Marijuana is rapidly becoming a big business and there are many investors and entrepreneurs poised to reap big profits. The problem is there is plenty of evidence that this drug can be intensely harmful.
To confuse matters more, it seems that not everyone suffers the same harm.
The effects of marijuana vary dramatically based on a number of factors, such as:
- What strain of marijuana was being used?
- What was its potency?
- Were they new to using this drug?
- Were they using a potent concentrate such as hash oil or shatter?
- What was the age of the individual? Was he healthy?
- Were any other drugs used at the same or around the same time?
There’s no predicting its exact effects on any particular individual. And the effects can vary from one use or strain to the next. What can be said is that for some people, the use of marijuana is a fast road to complete disaster. The stories of individuals who got on that road and experienced that disaster make this point very clearly. Here are three of those stories.
Chris’s Story
Chris was an outstanding student in high school, valedictorian, president of student council, and a winner of multiple academic awards. He was a fearless and active outdoorsman—until he began to smoke marijuana with friends when he came home from college. He began to experience panic attacks which were the leading edge of a decline into schizophrenia. Within two years, he was being hospitalized and medicated, which did not help. This thoughtful, intelligent child turned into someone paranoid and incoherent. When he was 28, he took his own life.
This is only the briefest of summaries of this bright young man’s decline. The story as told by his mother is heartbreaking in its detail.
Andy’s Story
This young man was a bright spot among his friends and family members because he loved to make others laugh. But marijuana use replaced the brightness with suicidal thoughts and repeated treatments in mental health facilities. He told his family that he had to quit using marijuana if he was to live, but he couldn’t do it. At the age of 31, he hanged himself. His suicide note said, “I want to die. My soul is already dead. Marijuana killed my soul + ruined my brain.” His mother found a medical marijuana card in his wallet.
Patricia’s Story about Her Daughter
This mother told the story of how her daughter changed from being a lovable, caring girl to being cold, angry and depressed. In the girl’s freshman year of high school, she had been involved in dance, softball and music. When she began to use marijuana, she dropped all her activities. Problems escalated when she began hanging out with a drug dealer and later, a pot-smoking boyfriend. One weekend she was spending with her boyfriend and his friends, she told them she wanted to go home but they assaulted her and threw her out of a car. With her mother’s help, she broke free of her drug use and enrolled in college but her mother lives in fear that she will return to her old habits. Her mother notes that she still suffers from anxiety, depression and anger issues. Read the entire story from Patricia here.
The fact is that the only safety is in sobriety. This is where any individual has access to his or her own best qualities and sharpest analytical and intellectual capabilities. Dulling these abilities with weed has never improved a person’s chances of success in building a life of his own choosing.
For fifty years, Narconon has been helping people understand that drug use is dangerous—even using a drug that so many people believe is harmless. It takes looking further than the advertisements placed by pro-marijuana businesses. It takes listening to those who have suffered that harm and learning from the mistakes of people like Chis, Andy and Patricia’s daughter.
If you or someone you care about needs help breaking free from marijuana or any drug, call us at Narconon Ojai.
