The Upside of Bipolar: Conversations on the Road to Wellness
Living with bipolar disorder sucks! Each week Michelle Reittinger and her guests explore tools and resources that help you learn how to live well with your bipolar. If you are tired of suffering and want to live a healthy, balanced, productive life with your bipolar, this podcast was designed with you in mind.
The Upside of Bipolar: Conversations on the Road to Wellness
EP 87: The Hidden Dangers of Modern Marijuana: Psychosis, Bipolar Symptoms, and the THC Crisis with Aubrey Adams
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I sit down with marijuana harm advocate Aubrey Adams to trace how modern high-potency THC products can fuel psychosis, suicide risk, and life-altering psychiatric symptoms for users and their families. We also talk about what helps people stabilize, set boundaries, find support, and rebuild hope after cannabis-related harm.
• Aubrey’s story from Pueblo, Colorado and what marijuana commercialization changed in her community and home
• Dabbing, high-potency THC, and why today’s products are not comparable to “old school” marijuana
• Cannabis-induced psychosis and why it can be mistaken for bipolar disorder or schizophrenia
• The 2018 Farm Bill hemp loophole and how Delta-8 style THC products spread through vape shops and gummies
• Why “legal means safer” and “it ends the black market” arguments fail in practice
• Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome and the hidden physical toll of chronic THC exposure
• Family boundaries during addiction and psychosis, including “be clear, be kind, be gone”
• Recovery support options for users and families, including Every Brain Matters meetings and Marijuana Anonymous
• Practical self-care tools that support mental health, including sunlight, movement, and nutrition
Links
Website: Every Brain Matters
Instagram: @everybrainmatters
TikTok: @aubreeadamsebm
YouTube: @EveryBrainMatters
Bio
Aubree Adams is a national advocate focused on raising awareness about the public health impacts of the modern marijuana industry. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from Colorado State University Pueblo and is a licensed physical therapist assistant.
Based in Pueblo, Colorado, Aubree witnessed firsthand the rapid expansion of the marijuana industry and its effects on individuals and families. This experience led her to direct Every Brain Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating communities through the real-life stories of families impacted by marijuana-related harm. These stories are shared through the organization’s Voices of Marijuana Harms platform, YouTube channel, and the podcast “It’s Just Pot: What’s the Problem?”
Aubree has been featured on national media outlets including Dr. Phil Primetime, Fox News, and Newsmax. Her written work has appeared in USA Today and the Denver Gazette, where she addresses emerging concerns around cannabis. She has also presented her personal and professional insights before the FDA, the National Academy of Sciences, and in the documentary Chronic State, in addition to testifying in multiple state legislatures on drug policy and public health.
Following her family’s recovery journey in Houston, Texas, Aubree founded Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas, an organization focused on community education and advocacy related to marijuana and THC products, including those legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.
Through her work, Aubree emphasizes the need for increased awareness, prevention resources, and support systems for families facing addiction, mental health challenges, and cannabis-related conditions. She is committed to promoting informed decision-making and protecting families from the risks associated with today’s more dangerous marijuana products.
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A Warning From The Future
I'm Aubrey Adams and I'm from your future. You can learn from me. Let this industry into your community and destroy lives and then pay the consequences for years and years. Or you can prevent them from coming in and save lives. Welcome to the Upside of Bipolar, where we uncover the true sources of bipolar symptoms and share proven tools for recovery. I'm your host, Michelle Reitinger, number one international best-selling author of the Upside of Bipolar Seven Steps to Heal Your Disorder. In this podcast, I bring you solo insights from my journey and guest interviews with leading researchers and experts. Join us to transform chaos into hope and reclaim your life. Let's heal together. Aubrey Adams is a national advocate focused on raising awareness about the public health impacts of the modern marijuana industry. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from Colorado State University Pueblo, and is a licensed physical therapist assistant. Based in Pueblo, Colorado, Aubrey witnessed firsthand the rapid expansion of the marijuana industry and its effects on individuals and families. This experience led her to direct Every Brain Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating communities through the real-life stories of families impacted by marijuana-related harm. These stories are shared through the organization's Voices of Marijuana Harms platform, YouTube channel, and the podcast It's Just Pot, What's the Problem? Aubrey has been featured on national media outlets including Dr. Phil, Primetime, Fox News, and Newsmax. Her written work has appeared in USA Today and the Denver Gazette, where she addresses emerging concerns around cannabis. She has also presented her personal and professional insights before the FDA, the National Academy of Sciences, and in the documentary, Chronic State, in addition to testifying in multiple state legislatures on drug policy and public health. Following her family's recovery journey in Houston, Texas, Aubrey founded Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas, an organization focused on community education and advocacy related to marijuana and THC products, including those legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. I'm going to ask you about that. That's so bizarre. Through her work, Aubrey emphasizes the need for increased awareness, prevention resources, and support systems for families facing addiction, mental health challenges, and cannabis-related conditions. She is committed to promoting informed decision making and protecting families from the risks associated with today's more dangerous marijuana products. Aubrey, I am so excited that you agreed to be on my podcast. I cannot wait to talk with you. Well, thank you, Michelle. I am so excited you invited me. Thank you for helping me raise awareness. Absolutely. And I, just so everybody knows, the way that I found Aubrey was she was Dr. Joseph Witt During talked about her on his on his platform. And when I was listening to him talk about her, I'm like, oh my gosh, I wonder if she'd come on my podcast. Because I have not, I've seen a lot of, I'm starting to see growing information about the dangers and the harms of marijuana, especially obviously in my in my sphere related to psychosis and and mental health issues. But I have not seen people doing what you're doing, which is raising awareness, helping people understand how dangerous this is, doing advocacy work. And so I'm absolutely thrilled that you're on the program today. Thank you so much. I can't thank you enough. And giving me a voice is is the greatest gift you can give me to support my mission. So thank you, Michelle. Fantastic.
Pueblo’s Legalization Fallout At Home
Okay, so let's start with your story. So I'm from Pueblo, Colorado, which I call ground zero for the marijuana expansion movement. And I didn't think the legalization was a great idea, but I didn't realize how it would impact my local community and my family. January 1st, 2014, we had what we called marijuana migrants come to the community. Um, very excited that we were having commercialized marijuana. Unfortunately, a lot of these people came with no resources and they had children with them. And so our small, prideful community that takes care of the disadvantaged and the underprivileged was overwhelmed. And we had international cartels move into our communities. We had, I had two illegal marijuana grow houses within a block of my house. There was a man who was murdered by my parents' garage just three blocks away from me. I had a gang shooting in front of my house. We never had these problems before in our community. And then my son's behavior started to change. And I thought, well, I've taught him enough. You know, I've told him, taught him not to use drugs. And I just thought it was adolescence, growing up, having a hard time, everything that we go through, you know, when we're growing up and come to realize he started um self-harming. And then one night I was witnessing him in psychosis. I did not even know the word psychosis. I didn't even know the meaning. I was just trying to support him, tell him everything's gonna be okay. And then he had a full-fledged suicide attempt, which led to two psychiatric hospitalizations. And when he got out of those, I asked him, and I'm trying to connect with him, trying to figure out what is happening. And he told me, Mom, I'm dabbing. And I had no clue what a dab was. And he said, Mom, it's really strong marijuana. It's like crackweed, and I know it's making me crazy, and I'm trying to quit. So that opened me researching what the heck is a dab, what is going on here? And I came to realize that dabs were really high concentrations of THC, the drug or the chemical in the cannabis plant that is addictive and causes the euphoria, but it also can cause acute psychosis and lead a person to be diagnosed with chronic psychiatric disorders such as bipolar, sometimes with psychotic features and schizophrenia, which schizophrenia is chronic psychosis. In my community of Pueblo, they were calling dabs medicine and less harmful. And as a mother, I became angry. I mean, that's just the full-fledged emotional reaction I had. How dare they legalize this product and not tell the truth about it? So that led me on a pathway with my son with a lot of crisis moments. Me being like an FBI agent trying to find help for him, being told we don't treat for cannabis use disorder. We don't treat for marijuana addiction. They have, they wait till they get on meth and heroin before they intervene. And I just thought that was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. I'm a taxpayer citizen. What do you mean there's no services available to my family? And I came to find out I had a friend that worked for the Department of Social Services. She was a social worker working with adolescents, and she said, Hey, as a taxpayer of the state of Colorado, you have the right to volunteer your family for crisis intervention with DSS, the Department of Social Services. And so I did that. And we had a lot of ups and downs. I learned some stuff. I was parent-shamed. I just was, you know, I'm I'm open to like just tell me what I need to do. I'm desperate to help my son because what I see my son doing is he's he's going down this path of this mental and mental illness crisis that I didn't know what to do, you know. And I was being told that I'm the one in control. I'm the one who can fix this. And it's because of my reactions, is the reason why he's getting sick. And boy, did I believe that sometimes. And I was losing my self-esteem as a parent. He was losing his mental stability. My husband was, you know, upset that he read that marijuana was medicine. It would help him with anxiety. So then he started using, and they told him to use 24% THC. Just take a couple hits a week, which, you know, it did. That hit that he took numbed him up. So he was relieved of that, you know, acute psych anxiety and that that pain, that emotional pain he was feeling. But then it led him down to me losing my husband from THC, became very depressed, very suicidal. So fast forward, it's a long story, but I became very clear over a period of time that I didn't have a lot of power. I didn't have a lot of control. And as a mother, it was very important for me to provide an environment of security, safety, and healing. And I didn't know how to achieve that. And I would pray to God to help me find a way. Sorry, I get emotional. And uh, that's what led me to Houston, Texas. We, and here in Pueblo, Colorado, just after two years after we had legalized here, the people of Pueblo realized, you know, the the physicians, the ER physicians were speaking up, law enforcement was speaking up, saying, this isn't working, this is costing us. We need to close this industry down. So we did at 16 try to vote them out of our community. You can opt out of the amendment 64, which is the retail uh marijuana legalization, but we lost it because we, you know, the grassroot people, the citizens of the United States, the people that are really actively trying to better our families and better our communities, we cannot compete with drug money. And so we lost the vote. And I realized I live in a community that picks drugs over their children. And I found Houston, Texas, which is ground zero for the youth recovery movement. And I started learning about them, about how they have a recovery high school. They have what they call alternative peer groups, where peer, you know, adolescents and young adults that are trying to remain sober and improve their mental well-being and come together and they have these fun social activities where they can support each other and be a positive peer support and support each other's health. And then that families are really involved and the parents get involved, and the parents work their own program, and that there's um some programs out there where you become host parents for youth and recovery. And there's just these professionals in this whole community of recovery. So I ended up, my husband ended up in a psychiatric unit hospitalized. I became scared of him. We'd been together since we were teenagers, so I knew him well. And the medical professionals at that hospital said, We heard you were trying to leave. We heard you were trying to get to Houston, Texas. We need you to leave while he's hospitalized to avoid any further conflicts. And so I did. I left everything we owned. I packed up my two dogs, my two kids. My son was already established in Houston at that time. I had sent him ahead of time and he was living with host families, but he was just happened to be in Pueblo with us because he got sick on one of their trips. So I was he was here. So I took my two dogs, my two kids, and I had two lawn chairs, two air mattresses, and I just told the children, just pack what you can in a suitcase and we're leaving. And that was the hardest thing I've ever done. And so I went to Houston. I was surrounded by my positive peer support, the parents that were on their recovery journey with their own kids, and they surrounded me with love. I swear that program saved my life. I started gaining my confidence back as a mother. I started learning what I could control, what I couldn't control, how to be in a place of acceptance, how to give what I can't, you know, can't control to my higher power of God or however we want to do that. And so I learned how to have healthy relationships there. I became a host mom for youth and recovery. My son achieved three years of sobriety there, but then he relapsed after the hemp derived THC came on scene in the in Texas, which was legalized by the 2018 Farm Bill. So his program used vaping nicotine as a harm reduction. So he was going into the vape shops already to buy nicotine, and those THC products became available immediately. This was 2019. And um, so it was a very easy transition for him to start picking up the drug again. And so I lost him. We had a I we lived together a good year, and then he um, when I mean I lost him, I mean he he's still alive, but um that led to him being estranged from the family for over five years. I didn't see him for over or speak to him for over two years. And when he showed back up, he was skin and bones. I think people would look at him and go, he's a meth addict, you know. And no, he's a THC addict. He had cannabinoid hyperemes syndrome, which is where they get at really toxic levels of uh THC and they can't eat and drink and they're they're vomiting, they're sick to their stomach a lot. And when he came back into my life, I just worked really hard on connecting with him, letting him know no matter what he chose to do with his life, I'm his fan. I love him. I'm gonna have my boundaries around the drug use, but um, but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. And having a relationship with him meant the world to me. And it took a while to establish that connection. He would let me in and out of his life. And then this past June, I became very active in Texas fighting for the health and safety of Texas with my citizens for a safe and healthy Texas um group. And he, you know, I was visiting him, and last June he called me up and he said, Mom, I can't take it anymore. Um, you've done everything you can to help me. I love you very much. I'm gonna end my life today. And um, I just I need you to know you you need to be okay because you've done everything you can. He says, I just can't take it anymore. And so, you know, of course, that was a horrible day with me telling him, son, don't, don't do it. And he hung up and he was not returning my phone calls. So we called the police to his apartment and did everything we could. And we asked him, you know, to start again. You know, you you can do this. Just get through today and and come home. And and I'm sorry my my story is kind of long, but in the meantime, being separated from my husband while I was in Houston, he quit using marijuana. Um we never divorced, and he started coming back to who he was, and we started talking again. So we decided after we got my younger son graduated high school, I moved back to Pueblo, Colorado. And I moved back in with my husband. And um, we are best friends. He's not using, he was able to wean off all his medications, though he still struggles tremendously. He has severe anxiety, severe depression, and he's like yesterday was a really rough day for him. But I told him, you know, I'm here. I gave him a big hug. You can do this, let me know I can help. And he, I watched him fight for his mental well-being all day yesterday. Getting back to my son, my son did survive. He did decide to come back and he lives here with my husband and I. And he detoxed. He said, I'm not going to treatment. He detoxed in our home, and it took him five months to quit testing positive for THC. That's how strong this drug is. And where he is now, my son is not totally well, but he has a full-time job and he's he's trying to figure things out. And he's 26 and he um proud of him. And I I hurt just watching him struggle for his mental stability on a daily basis. When he's working, it seems like he can get through those days pretty good. But then when he's his days off, I watch him struggle. And he's not totally sober, but he's trying to figure out how to be. So that's where we're at right now. And um, it's hard, and most days we're okay. But even when my son is humanic, you know, part of his psychosis looks where he's walking the streets for hours and hours. I still try to get in front of him and say, give me a hug, try to connect with him, give him a big kiss on the cheek and let him know I love him. He's capable. And I just am very grateful that he's back in my life and I have an opportunity to connect with him again and um, you know, keep my boundaries around me. But he's he's a lovely young man. He's funny, he's charismatic, he's hardworking, and and so that's where we're at today. And that had led me to develop every brain matters, so nonprofit that raises awareness of the harms of THC. And I am connected with thousands of families living the same nightmare, and not all of them have a good outcome. You know, not all of them achieve recovery. Some do. It's possible. There's lots of people finding the help and getting better and healing, and some are not. And so every Brain Matters has a support recovery arm where we provide family recovery resources. We hold online family support meetings twice a week with a professional counselor who was my counselor in Houston. I he works for me now because he helped my family so much. And I, what he taught me, I want him to teach to everybody else. And then we just we're actually hiring him on a little bit more, and we're gonna develop that support recovery arm more. And then we have an advocacy arm of Every Brain Matters, where we do talk to legislators, city council members, um, we show up at community meetings and we tell our stories, and we provide this critical education that marijuana, the THC, is addictive and can cause severe mental illness, and that it's not the medicine and the less harmful drug that the industry is trying to manipulate the country with their wrong messages. Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Old Myths Versus Modern THC
First of all, your story, I'm so glad you told your story because I think that we we have been, well, I'm a Gen Xer. I grew up back when it was like, you know, all the shows, the movies and that that portrayed, you know, the the Stoners. That was what we called them back then. I don't know what they call them now, but you know, the Stoners were the guys that were always toking up on marijuana and they were just laid back, chill, you know, they were kind of didn't have a lot of motivation, but they weren't hurting anybody, right? And when I remember when they first started talking about legalizing it, all of the arguments seemed to make sense. Like, you know, we want to eliminate the, you know, people are doing this, it's it's no harm more harmful than alcohol or or cigarettes, and those are legal. And if we, you know, if it becomes legal, then we can regulate it. And then we're gonna eliminate the, you know, this part of the drug, you know, illegal drug trade and that. And I I am not a fan of any of it, but I could understand the perspective they were coming from, and I thought, well, you know, I I just had, you know, I kind of was a little bit unsure of how to feel about it because even though I'm not a fan of it and I didn't think it was a good idea, it didn't seem like a bad, like, like the end of the world to legalize it. I thought, well, we cigarettes are legal and alcohol is legal, you know, and and so I think that there was uh this idea that it wasn't a big deal. Yeah. And I I want to ask you two things. Number one, I think that it would be good for clarification. Can we just talk just a little bit about terms? So we we use the term THC, marijuana, pot, cannabis. Are these all referring to the exact same thing? Yes, it is. I do. I I interchange that because people that's totally fine. I just not everybody's not everybody understands all these terms, and I just want to make sure when we use those that language, it's referring to the exact same thing. Those those are all interchangeable words, correct? Correct. Okay, just for clarification, just for the uninitiated. Okay, and then let's talk about I I do have a quick question because I want to for not forget to
The 2018 Farm Bill Loophole
say it. They used a farm bill to legalize the sale of marijuana. Yes. So you have the states that are deciding whether to legalize THC or cannabis or marijuana. And then the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, which is part of the cannabis. It's a it's different than the cannabis plant. And the hemp plant, which legalized CBD, which tends to be the molecule in the plant, the drug in the plant that has some medicinal qualities. It is an anti inflammatory. They have used it to help um kiddos with uh seizure conditions. Um, so there has there is some the medicinal qualities of that. So that was the intention, but they had a big loophole in the the farm bill that. They allowed, they didn't define hump. Um, they did they defined it two ways. They defined it as a 0.30% of dry weight, which when you do the calculations, that means that they can make these gummies where they're claiming they're C BD, but they actually have 9, 10 milligrams of THC, which is the addictive part of the plant. So that was one way they could do that. And of course, if you're like me, I don't want one gummy or one piece of candy. I want a handful of them. So a handful of gummies that have, you know, claiming it's C B D could have like 100 milligrams of THC, which is a very, very large amount because old school hippie weed back in the 70s only had like 1% THC. In the 90s, it was up to 4 or 5%. So that was one way they were able to sneak the THC into these hemp um products. Another way is that they were able to take the CBD molecule and just convert it to different variants of THC. It's it's just um so they the Delta 9 THC is what is legal here in the state of Colorado, but they were able to take CBD and convert it to Delta 8 THC, Delta 10 THC, Delta 12, I mean, and even goes on to what these products called HHC. And I can give you a resource that explains that if you want to put it in the description or anything like that for your viewers so they can understand it. And what it comes down to is just a game of chemical alphabet soup, and it's people that are wanting to sell drugs and profit off addiction, just really knew the chemistry and could really get around that loophole. Now, currently, after all these years of us speaking up and fighting, the federal government has closed that loophole and they have changed the definition of hemp to just be 0.4 milligrams of THC per package. Now, that law is supposed to be implemented this coming November, and then all the stores have a year to get the products off their shelves. You know, can't come soon enough for the families I'm connected with, but but that that is a step in the right direction that that we have seen on the issue. Yeah.
Why Legalization Promises Failed
So let's talk about legal versus illegal and all the arguments that they gave us because it's it's really frustrating when when they're using arguments that sound good and aren't true, but nobody is we're not able to speak loud enough to get over the top of like you talked about the drug money and the the big speakers that they have, you know, the the ability they have to reach lots of people because they have lots and lots of money to sell their message. So let's talk about the the arguments that they use to legalize and how it's not true, how they've lied to us and misled us. Yeah. Yeah, they they um they promised us that they could make it safer and eradicate the black market. So who, you know, who wouldn't want that? Who wouldn't want a safer product? But those have not come true. One is that the legal products are actually more dangerous than ever. And one way they've made them more dangerous is they've made them more potent. They contain large amounts of THC. So you'll hear this buzz term high potency THC. And the definition of high potency THC is a product that contains 10 milligrams of THC or more. So a lot of the products, just the flour alone here in the state of Colorado, averages between 18 to 23% THC. So we're already in that high potency category. Um, and the concentrates, the dabs, the shatter, the wax, the average um THC content is about 64 milligrams, 67 milligrams of THC. It's a very hard, dangerous drug where just one use, one hit of that product can cause acute psychosis. And 47% of those people that experience that acute episode of cannabis-induced psychosis will convert to chronic psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar. So that's that's the difference with that. And then they compared it to be less harmful than alcohol or the already legal drugs, but that is not true. I don't, I'm not an advocate for alcohol use. I'm not an advocate for any drug use. I just want to make that clear. But I would say alcohol is less harmful because one use of alcohol will not cause an acute episode of psychosis and put you on the pathway for schizophrenia. Now, alcohol can cause psychosis and lead to that, but you have to abuse it for many, many, many years for your brain to trip into that. Not an excuse to use it. Please, please don't think that I'm advocating for it. So that's one big difference. And alcohol is a water-soluble drug compared to THC marijuana, it is a fat-soluble drug. So the THC adheres to the fats in our bodies and doesn't necessarily release. And our fattiest organ is our brain. So we can't even predict how long the THC lives in our brain and how if how long it affects the brain. With alcohol, we can look at the person's weight and how much alcohol they've consumed, and we can predict when they're going to be intoxicated, when they're going to be blacking out, and then when they're going to die from alcohol poisoning. With THC, we can't predict how much THC will intoxicate a person, let alone make them psychotic. And then once the intoxication of THC wears off, that psychosis can persist. So it's a huge difference. So they did not make this drug safer, they made it more potent and more dangerous. And then another way they made it more dangerous is they put it in candies and everyday foods, and they put sugary flavors in it to get the consumer to consume it, especially the vapes. So I always share that if you take those sugary flavors out of the vapes, out of the candies, the consumer is going to spit them out because they taste so foul. They taste like a chemical, but not they have toxic taste to them. So that's a predatory marketing tactic that they do. So that's another way that they made it more dangerous. They also made it more accessible. So we know, um, and I didn't realize this in the beginning, that when you legalize a drug, you even though you age gate it at 21, where you're carding people to buy the product, you actually increase accessibility to the youth because the youth just like get the guy who's 21 who's going to buy him the alcohol, right? Same thing's happening with the marijuana. So legalizing a drug, commercializing it, increases youth access and decreases perception of harm. So age gating actually does not protect the youth. We have the most highly regulated two drugs we have are alcohol and tobacco. And those are the most drugs youth have access to. So adding marijuana on top of that has been a big public disservice and a significant factor in why we have such an addiction mental illness crisis in our country. The other thing is that they promised that it would eradicate the black market and who wouldn't want that. We live, we this isn't a hundred years ago with alcohol prohibition. We live in a modern age of mass communication, mass transportation. So what we have found is that these policies that have commercialized, legalized marijuana have provided a good front for drug pushers, dealers, however we want to label them, to actively be in storefronts in our own neighborhoods. So it just provided a cover and has fueled international criminal organizations to come into our communities and set up shop. And so it has expanded the black market and has even created even a new black market to traffic marijuana and which has led to the trafficking of even more drugs.
Psychosis Conversion And CHS Reality
Okay. So let's talk about what are, you know, on your you have a really, I would encourage anybody who's listening to this who wants to know more, go to the website. It's very informative. They've got lots of good information there. I learned a ton that I didn't know. I'd never really explain explored this very much. I started looking at marijuana use because I was starting to see the impact it was having on people that were being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. And and I was curious about that because I thought that was a really odd coin, like I don't know, coincidence is the right term, but it was an odd correlation that people were using, we were seeing increased numbers of people being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and experiencing psychosis from the use of marijuana. That was one of the things that I started looking into. And I actually witnessed it firsthand with somebody that I knew in my community that I was working with to try and help them heal. And they were starting to feel better and starting to do better, and then started smoking pot again. And I, and she sent me a video and I witnessed psychosis. You know, I was like, what is going on? And I, you know, ran over to her home and and discovered the impact that just smoking, and it wasn't, it wasn't like the gummies or anything, she was just smoking the or vaping, I guess is what you call it. And it was so sad. Like it was so heartbreaking to me to see somebody who'd worked so hard to recover. And because of the marketing with these products and talking about safe, and and there's actually a lot of there's a lot of marketing that is used to tell people like your husband that this is going to help with your depression. It's going to help with your anxiety. You know, I've heard people that are, you know, I had somebody a couple of years ago that I was, well, it's actually been about three and a half years ago now, that I was working with, and he was an advocate in Canada for mental health and and bipolar people who were struggling with bipolar. And he started sending me messages saying, you know, I'm seeing all this research about how, you know, cannabis and and marijuana can help with bipolar. And I thought, that seems really odd. And this was before any of this information I had seen any of it. And he ended up hospitalized. He was like looking for something to help him. He ended up using it, and it and he ended up with a psychotic episode and ended up in the hospital. And so there's a lot of there's a lot of misinformation. And I I can't say definitively that people are intentionally putting this information out there. I don't know where it's coming from, but it is becoming more and more prolific that people are encouraging people to use this product for mental health purposes, and it is actually having the opposite effect. So, can we talk about that a little bit from what you've seen? And what are the other things that you're seeing that are the result of people using marijuana? Michelle, you're absolutely correct. It's it's worsening mental health and it's causing mental illness. And it's sad. You know, those stories you just told, I'm on the phone every day with families that are living that same nightmare where, you know, we even have I even have families where the parents really believed that the marijuana was going to help their their loved one and was buying the products for them. And then it caused severe psychosis, and then they're they're left with all this guilt and shame. And I I'm coaching them, I'm supporting them, letting them know that you didn't know. You you made the best decision at the time with the information you have. And that, and that's why it's so frustrating, all the misinformation around this drug. And and the science is very strong on a THC. I think there definitely needs to be more research on the CBD, but CBD is not necessarily safe too. You know, the science is 100% that THC can cause, not be correlated, cause acute episodes of psychosis and psychosis is where a person usually starts feeling paranoid. So if people that are choosing to use marijuana, like I just had a guy here yesterday who was fixing my garage, he was telling me he uses marijuana every day. And I, you know, we had a good conversation and I just said, hey, if you start feeling paranoid, please stop. Please get to a safe location because that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to become psychotic or go into psychosis, but that means you're opening the door to it. So we don't want you to progress to hallucinations and delusions. So please hear me when I say this. And I'm saying this not to tell you what to do because it's that I want you to be safe. And he was sharing he's a father and a husband. So yes, the hundred the science is 100%. And out of all the drugs that can cause psychosis, including meth, marijuana has the the highest conversion rate from those temporary symptoms to the chronic psychiatric disorders that I've mentioned before. Meth has a 32% conversion rate to psychiatric disorders. Marijuana has a 47%. So um, and that those numbers are from old school hippie weed, the low potency THC. You know, now we have, we we you can hardly find low potency THC in in the United States of America. So um this issue is so important, not only to maintain that individual's mental health, but imagine that person now, their whole family's affected. And then some of those people do become violent, not all, you know, just because you're become psychotic doesn't mean you're going to be a violent person, but but you're at a like 15 to 20 percent fold increase to become violent. And then that affects the community. So I know THC is a significant factor in mass shootings, suicides, and, you know, just all the destruction we're seeing across our communities. You know, when you're seeing that homeless young man walking around your community and he's thin and he's dirty and he's talking to people that aren't there, people correlate that with just meth or fentanyl. And what I'm saying is it's probably marijuana because they would have a better chance of recovering if they quit using. So that is definitely misinformation. And I do think it is coming from the industry. It's, you know, the media really um has been pro-marijuana, pro-legalization. But then we saw the New York Times is already scaling that back saying, hey, we've probably made a mistake, but they still can't even tell the truth. They, you know, when the New York Times says smoking a joint is just like drinking a glass of wine. I'm like, no, that's not true. And I believed in informed consent. And, you know, I'm definitely on the side like, don't legalize, that's what I preach, don't commercialize, don't let this industry into your neighborhoods, don't let this industry into your state. But if you do, you need to have informed consent. And you need to hold this industry liable for the destruction that they are causing because they are literally causing brain injuries. So your friend that has the um vaping, the THC, that provides a fast chemical assault to the brain, rapid, you know, and that's an injury at that point. And and will she recover, you know? Yeah, maybe, but she'll never be the same. There'll there's trauma caused to her from that experience. It's scary, it's a state of suffering. You know, it's the consequences. I don't I think it's gonna be a long time. We're gonna be paying the price for this movement for a long time in the US. And I'm advocating here locally in Pueblo, like, hey, let you know, they're going out of business here in Pueblo. So hey, when I talk to people, I say, I'm Aubrey Adams and I'm from your future. You can learn from me. You you can let this industry into your community and destroy lives and then pay the consequences for years and years, or you can prevent them from coming in and save lives. So now the industry, they don't sell good products. There's not a high demand for it anymore. Our planes from where you where you drive from my community up to the mountains is covered with abandoned marijuana illegal grow houses. Legal, they were legal grow houses. I'm sorry, I misspoke for that. But, you know, and then they've just left this destruction. I have people going up and down my block every day that are homeless, some are in psychosis, and it's sad. And it was all preventable. All of this was preventable. The other, the other major um diagnose, you know, and the reason why you talked about how they're seeing an increase of bipolar from marijuana use, they don't have a C D a CD, yeah, a code to capture cannabis-induced psychosis. We just got it for the cannabinoid hyperemesis, CHS, and I'll talk about that in a second, but they they're not capturing it. So the doctors are diagnosing usually bipolar. And a lot of times these people aren't bipolar. They're being affected by the drug and they need a detox from the drug. And our medical system doesn't allow them to detox long enough from the drug. I mean, it takes sometimes months to detox from THC compared to alcohol and math that are water-soluble, like, you know, a week or two. But THC, I mean, the families that I'm unconnected with, like, they call me and they say we need THC detox facilities that are a minimum of six months. So we can provide a stable, safe environment and have a trained staff there to know that this person that's become psychotic from THC is not going to follow directions. They're not going to be compliant of what you want them to do because they're in a state of suffering. They're in a state of psychosis, and they need to be surrounded by people that truly understand that and can keep them safe. They're not necessarily going to be compliant with whatever medication you want to put them on. And so we really need that, that compassion, that safety, that opportunity to detox and let those people know that we're, you know, and I know this is might be controversial, we're not going to allow you to check yourself out of this facility because we know you're not cognitive available to do that, to make a good decision to keep yourself safe. And what's happening is they're allowing these people that are not mentally stable, that their brain is just craving the drug because they want to end the suffering again. They want to intoxicate, calm those voices down in their head, calm those delusions down in their head. So they're going to go reach back out for THC, meth, fentanyl, whatever they can do to intoxicate themselves and bring that suffering down. But they're allowing people that are in that state of their disease to make these decisions. They're ending up back on our streets, they're being taken advantage of, they're being abused, and it's just the cycle, and it's so sad and so preventable. Yeah. And I'm I'm gonna put a little caveat in here. So, and this is this is from me, not from Aubrey. So I'm I am making that caveat here, but it is possible to heal the brain after they have gone, after somebody has experienced psychosis, when they are diagnosed with schizophrenia, with with bipolar disorder, it is possible to heal the brain. And one of the things that we talk about in, you know, I've talked about on my podcast, I've had guests on here that talk about the benefits of micronutrients, specialized micronutrients that are targeted to help heal the brain, help provide the brain with the building blocks necessary to repair the neurotransmitters, repair all the connections, help the brain to recover. Our brains and our bodies are incredibly uh resilient and that we are able to heal those things. And so we don't, people are not going to be stuck if they know where to go. That's one of the biggest challenges I think that you're talking about here is that we don't have enough voices out there yet. We don't have enough people out there yet sharing how to heal in the first place. And so people get stuck in hopelessness, they feel like there's no hope. I'm gonna be like this forever, and they start to give up. And so I think it's so critical. I want to make sure that people understand they don't have to become stuck in chronic, you know, bipolar symptoms or psych, you know, or psychotic symptoms that it is possible to heal, but you need help. You need resources, you need help, you need people who understand what has actually happened to the brain in order to help the brain recover. So I just want to make sure that we we have people that I don't want, I don't want this to be a hopeless. Yeah, yeah. So that's not a criticism of what you're saying. I'm just giving that that piece because in the in our on my podcast, I share resources for healing and recovery. And it is possible to heal from bipolar symptoms. It is possible to heal from schizophrenia symptoms if you have the tools and the resources that are research-based that help your brain to recover. So that's I just want to put that little caveat in there so we don't I would say, Amen, Michelle. Thank you for saying that. Because like tonight, I have a speaker's meeting once a month on Every Brain Matters, and I bring in somebody who has recovered or a parent who has had a loved one that recovered. And that's what I put up on my YouTube channel, if they allow me to record their story. Of course, I Respect their anonymity if they just want to come bring that hope back into the conversation and let people know recovery is possible. Even if they do have a chronic uh psychiatric diagnosis, you know, they they can be better and they can live a great life. I've actually, before I even got into the this issue of marijuana, I actually did physical therapy for a living. And part of one of this ladies, she had schizophrenia. She had lost custody of her children. And part of her recovery process is I did a little bit of yoga with her. I did a little bit of therapeutic uh exercise with her, part of her healing process. And we did our thing. I taught her some stuff. And when I was actually getting ready to move out of Pueblo, I saw her in the grocery store and she came up and she hugged me and she said, I'm doing great. I got my kids back, you know? And I was like, I'm so happy. And I have no idea what led her to that diagnosis or, you know, I didn't have her background. I just knew that they asked me to help her and I did what I could on my end. And she did all the other work, you know, that she was doing to get better. That's why Every Brain Matters has the support, recovery, and the advocacy, because we definitely need a balance and we need to. I mean, even if you're not the person diagnosed with bipolar or schizophrenia and you're a family member, it's really important that we learn how to take care of ourselves, you know, through this process too. So that's my main thing, what I do with the families is to bring that hope back.
Boundaries That Protect Families
Can you talk about boundaries? Because I think this is like a really perfect segue into this topic. Because one of the things, um, and I think it's more common to be talked about within, you know, when there's drug use involved. But I, but it's I talk about this all the time when somebody's got a loved one who's struggling with bipolar symptoms. You need to learn how to have health, how to have healthy boundaries because allowing your loved one to harm you doesn't help them and it doesn't help you. It damages the relationship. It prevents, it can actually prevent recovery because you're not, they're not feeling any of the consequences of their choices. And and it's doing tremendous damage to the relationship. And so can you talk? You've you've spoken about your own boundaries and making sure that you have healthy boundaries for yourself, but can you talk about what that looks like? And let's talk about what the boundaries are, and then how did that come into play with you, with your husband, with your child, with your son? You know, how how did you learn? Because I think that we have to learn how to have healthy boundaries because we love somebody so much and we just want to help them, and then the relationship starts to deteriorate. Yeah, and that's such a I mean, we could have, you know, three-hour podcasts just about boundaries. It's it's so hard. Um, you know, I definitely um meet families where they're at because um, you know, you know, I have had to tell my son to leave the home quite a number of times. And those days were the hardest thing I've ever done. So when we're having our support meetings, we we have open forum talks about, you know, what so one family's sharing, this is what we decided, and this is what boundary we implemented, and you know, how they came to that process of figuring out what boundaries they want to hold and what they're capable of holding. So that's that's a big thing. So I think each family is different. We all have our common things. We definitely, if it's a crisis of there's some kind of abuse or violence, we definitely our main priority is safety. So we we need to learn that boundary. What does safety look like? Does that mean you just exiting the home and getting out of their way? You know, unfortunately, there were nights where I had to lock myself in the bedroom, get my younger son in there, and hope to get my dog in there because it was really full-blown psychosis out of control. So the boundaries, you know, I just tell families give yourself some time, give yourself some grace, figure out what boundaries you want, listen to other families of what boundaries they implemented, but it the decision has to come from you. Because if you're making that decision because of what if somebody else is telling you, that can lead to really further damage in the relationship. So safety is number one. Give yourself the time and grace to figure out what boundaries or boundary you want to start with. Keep coming to the support meetings. So, of course, we have that with Every Brain Matters. And then I'm a founding member of Marinon, which is like Al-Anon, but it's for people affected by someone else's marijuana use. And they have online meetings every day for that. So those are good support groups. Nami, Al-Anon. I think there's parents of addicted loved ones. Like I just encourage families to get plugged in to whatever recovery support meetings that they're feeling connected with. There's no right or wrong in this, but somewhere where you're you're connecting and you're feeling you're like less alone in this. So then once they pick that boundary, hopefully it's a boundary that the whole family, you know, if it's a husband or a spouse or significant other, that they can hold together. And then once they pick that, then we teach them to be clear about the boundary, be kind about the boundary, and then be gone. So it's be clear, be kind, be gone. Meaning once you're gonna implement that boundary, you clearly state it to your loved ones. You're kind about it. You don't want to shame them and lecture them about it. So, like if it's a, you know, I always say when they're younger, you can establish more stronger boundaries as they grow older. It's gonna change. And your boundaries might change on a daily basis, depending on the situation you're in. But like if I had a teenager who was using marijuana, you know, maybe they're not having other problems, but we found out they're using marijuana. And that's a rule of boundary set in our house that we're not drug use is not allowed. I would just say we noticed that you're using marijuana and we're very concerned why you are harming yourself with this drug. So we're gonna hold on to your phone for a while and we're gonna go get professional help and we're not gonna give your phone back to we're we're for sure that you're taking good care of yourself. And I love you. And then I would exit the room because this is not up for negotiation, especially if that that loved one is developing the disease of addiction or something like that. But but I give examples. And so when families hear that example over and over again and they go to support meetings and hear other people talking about how they implemented it, then they gain the confidence to choose what they're gonna do. And then I always tell families that sometimes the boundaries work out, sometimes they don't. You know, the boundaries are for us to stay safe. It's not to influence the other our loved ones' behaviors. Most of the time, the their behaviors will escalate if you're holding a boundary because they're not getting away with what they were before. So you need to prepare for that. That's why we say be clear, be kind, be gone. So we want you to get out of their way. So if their behaviors are going to escalate, you're not there to be a punching bag or whatever is gonna happen in that situation. Not all the time it happens like that. A lot of people accept the boundaries and and appreciate it because it is literally an act of love. But that's that's kind of my little, my little spiel when it comes to boundaries. Because I think I think there's a no, no, there's a tough love, there's we gotta love them more, you know, and there's all this stuff. But I think each family needs to hear the information and make their own decisions. Yeah. And I I want to talk about when when people experiment with this, it's a little bit like, well, not a little bit, it is like playing Russian roulette
Women’s Health And Menopause Claims
with your brain. You don't have any idea, like if the product, you know, how the product's gonna affect you. You don't know how your own, you know, each person is different. And so it'll affect people differently. And there's a high risk now for adverse effects that are that could be significant. And one of the things that you mentioned in a recent video on your YouTube channel was the implicate or the the issues that are being become we're becoming aware of with women's health. Can you talk a little bit about that? You mentioned that on your YouTube channel. Well, yeah, I had a good friend. She was an avid, you know, a marijuana user. And she was when we were teenagers, and I never really saw her have issues, and she was the college student and got a really great degree. That's a hard degree to get, um, that most people could not achieve in science. And um, and she just happened to call me and I was wondering all these years because I'm very um, I'm a public advocate. So I'm on social media, always speaking out. And she called me up and she said, Yeah, I was she was told to use marijuana because she was going through menopause. And um, she said it made her worse. And so I think too, she got the more potent stuff, you know, compared to what she might have been using in the past. And and she said it took her a little while to realize that it was worsening her mental health symptoms. And then, but when she realized it, she quit using it. But that's the type of person she always was. She was, you know, you know, those certain people that are like when they realize something, they just make the change and it's not a big deal to them. For me, I'm like, you know, with my weight and stuff like that, I'm always juggling with, you know, that kind of exercise more, eat less, blah, blah, blah. And um, and she definitely was like, Thank you for what you're doing, Aubrey. I agree with everything you're saying. And I was manipulated into thinking marijuana was going to help me get through menopause and made me worse. And I think that message really needs to be out there. Yeah. Yeah. And
Beyond Quick Fixes Toward Healing
I think this all goes back to where I where I'm coming from with what I do is we have been misled in our society for decades now, that the problems we're struggling with with our mental health, with our emotional health, with our physical health can all be solved with pills. And we want the quick fix, we want a pill that's gonna just, you know, make it better. And we want to be able to just continue our lives as we've been going. And the problem is that usually it makes things worse. When we use pills, when we use drugs, when we use these quick fixes, quote unquote quick fixes, we are usually not addressing the root of the problem. We are trying to put a band-aid on top or suppress the symptoms or something. We're trying to take a shortcut that often becomes makes things much worse. And it's heartbreaking to me the number of people that I have seen on social media and that I've heard that have talked about how, you know, they've been told marijuana will help with mental health. It'll marijuana will help, you know, the marijuana will help with all of these things. And it because we are so conditioned to believe that there is a quick fix, that there is a pill, a solution that's going to fix the problem, we are very susceptible to that messaging. And then we take it and we make our lives infinitely worse because of the effect of the drug on our brains, on our bodies. And then we end up, you know, not only do we have the original issue that we were struggling with, but now we've got all these other problems on top of that. Yeah, I agree. What the medical professionals have taught me over the years is a lot of the medications are designed to be used acutely, you know, less than a month. No, especially like an anti-anxiety medication. It's really an emergency kind of medication. You know, if somebody has some severe trauma, a severe loss, to kind of help that person get them back to sleeping and then wean them off of it in a couple weeks. And we, you know, the this medical system, you know, saw a lot of money in selling those pills and definitely have have really caused a lot of damage. And I think that's what Dr. Yosev he does a really good job at explaining. And and I can't remember when I did his podcast. I actually have a podcast to publish that he came on on mine, but I shared with him I had had a miscarriage. And um I have dealt with depressions since I was a child. I've had some some issues, unfortunately. So many of us have issues growing up. And so I was severely depressed, postpartum depression, and I was giving um an antidepressant. And at the time, I mean, Michelle, I didn't even know. This was the early 2000s, it put me in psychosis. Yes. And I and I didn't realize that till after I saw my son, you know, go through psychosis for marijuana. I'm like, oh my gosh, that's what happened to me. Yes. And I I realized, I mean, I was on it for like two weeks. I was doing some really bizarre stuff. I was self-harming, and I realized this medication is making me worse. It's not helping. So I had the the awareness to stop using the medication and I quit and I got better. And I just, I just said, hey, I'm not one that can use medication. I guess sometimes it does help some people, sometimes it doesn't. I don't know. But for me, I knew that was not a solution. And then over the years, going through my own recovery process to make sure I'm showing up as healthy as I can for my loved ones, I'll just share what I what I do because I still struggle with depression and anxiety. That hasn't gone away. I just have better tools where I don't live in it as long. So getting out in the morning and getting the sunlight in my eyes, not that I'm looking at the sun. I don't want your viewers like I'm looking at the sun, but I'm looking ahead and the sun is penetrating my eyes. I have no sunglasses on for at least five minutes. That is a miracle to me. I have to make sure that I'm eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. I can tell when my depression's coming on stronger. I go and I get my favorite salad from this restaurant in town because I just love their salad, and I start feeling better or just a brisk walk, even if it's like a five-minute brisk walk, it just changes my brain. And I'm able to take a deep breath. I'm able to go take a nap. I'm able to walk away from whatever's stressing me, where in the past I would kind of live in it and force myself to work through it. And I'm like, no, I have some choices. I can walk away from this. So I agree. I think we've had this whole drug industry, you know. I, you know, of course, my focus is the problems with marijuana because not enough people are speaking about it. But marijuana is a gateway to pharmaceutical drugs. I mean, come on, people. I mean, my loved ones were never offered even pharmaceutical drugs until they started using marijuana. And so I agree with everything you're saying, Michelle. And I definitely don't want to tell people what to do, but I think they need to hear from doctors like Dr. Yosef more, um, instead of people that just want to make money and to know that maybe the medication might be a tool, but very, very short term. That and that they are, I think the message too is that we are capable of healing and we are capable of having learning coping skills. And, you know, not to say that some people aren't gonna need medication, especially when they have chronic um disorders, you know, but it is they're they're not, they have a lot of side effects too, the ones that need to stay on them long term. And it's not fun. Nobody's having fun with them. You know, it's yeah. And I will say, I am just gonna say this because I've said it lots of times in previous episodes that that the drugs themselves create the chronic disorders. So the reason why people end up with chronic bipolar symptoms, chronic schizophrenic symptoms is because of the treatment. The treatment is preventing the cure. We're not curious about what's actually causing those symptoms and we're not treating the source, and so people stay sick. So if we can identify the sources of symptoms, treat the source using research-based tools and resources, people can actually heal, which is great news because people don't have to stay sick for the rest of their lives. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Michelle.
Where To Get Help And Support
Okay, so where can people find you and what are the kinds of resources? So you've talked about the support groups. What where can people find you if they want to learn more? If they're struggling with marijuana use or the effects of it, or they have a loved one who is, where can they go? What resources do you have available to them? And I'll make sure everything's linked in the show notes, but I just want to have you share that with people. Sure. Well, if they're a person struggling with marijuana use themselves, I would definitely refer them to marijuana anonymous. That website is tremendous. We network with them. I talk to members all the time there. I think they're the people that can start helping that person put them on a pathway of where to start, get a sponsor. Maybe you need a higher level of care, maybe you don't. They're the ones that can guide you better with that. Definitely you want to get with a professional, um, a professional that's not going to tell you marijuana is not your problem. Um, that, you know, professional that understands the harms. So for the user, that's what I would recommend. Um, for the family member, a loved one, a brother, sister, a grandparent, getting plugged into Every Brain Matters is a great place to start to. Come to our what we were called timer meetings on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Meet Joe Parker, our counselor, and get plugged in and connected with other families. I'm also, I'll give you a link to our family recovery resources. There's articles, there's books you can start to read. Depending on who your loved one is, I would customize what, you know, I usually give three resources when I speak to people. So they can email me at Aubrey. It's A-U-B-R-E-E at Every Brain Matters. And I can usually start them up with two or three resources of where to start. And usually at that point, that gets them on the path where they can pick and choose where they want to go and where do they they want to stay plugged in. Um don't my my main thing to the family members and the people that are using is don't don't do this alone. Don't don't stay in isolation. I know it's really hard to show up to some of these meetings, but showing up is half the battle, probably most of the battle, because if you just show up and start getting connected, the healing pathway starts to occur and you become more empowered in your own decision making of what road to go down, what turn to make, and how to handle the big bumps and even the mountains that are coming your way. Because it's not easy. None of this is easy, but it can be a beautiful world where you really get connected with some very valuable, exceptional people that have lived through some really horrific challenges in their life and have learned how to still take care of themselves and be in a place of acceptance and peace and serenity and know how to go with the flow and the punches that come your way. And when you get connected to those people in these recovery support meetings, I mean, it just, it just brings that peace and serenity back in your life. And you think, I can do this too. I can do this too. No matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the challenges are, I'm not gonna be a victim in this. I'm gonna have my choices. I'm gonna, I'm gonna make these decisions, even if they're hard. And you're gonna realize some days you're gonna be really good at it, and others' days you're gonna suck at it. And that's okay. That's called the human experience. But just to kind of get a get in plugged into these this world of hope, serenity, love, compassion, peace, and get away from the world of misinformation, shaming, blaming, chaos, anger, you know, it really is worth it. And you can do it. You're capable. You're amazing. Thank you so much for what you're doing. Thank you so much for being a guest today. This has been beyond incredible. I'm so grateful for everything that you shared and especially for your message of hope. I want to give you one last chance. I feel like you kind of just did it, but if there's anything else you want to share, if there's like one thing you would encourage people to do, or I want to make sure that people get on your website and and join your newsletter because that's worthwhile by itself. Like you have a great newsletter. But can you share with people like what's the one thing that you would encourage people to take away from this? Oh boy. I I mean, definitely join my newsletter because that really helps me. I have to raise all my own funds and and I need help. I really need help. And I I don't I don't take any governmental funding. I don't take alcohol money, I don't take pharmaceutical money. You know, there's all these naysayers out there. I'm only private donations, and I'm gonna I'm gonna keep doing that. So if you're a person of means, please give me donations or or connect me with people that have those means because this is so important, and we need to keep advocating for our country and our families, and we're worth it. You know, we we really I I tell everybody my mission's not done until every household understands the potential risks of using marijuana. You know, as long as God gives me breath to continue to do this, I'm gonna do it. So plugging into my newsletter, even if you're a person that can't donate, plugging into my newsletter shows my board that I am making a difference. My numbers are going up. And I hate that that's uh, you know, part of the process of having a nonprofit, but it is. And so I need to prove to my board that I'm doing outreach. Um, follow me on social media, like, share my posts, ignore the hate that comes with it. I um advocate for post and ghosts, put a little education in there with your resource or a positive comment and then leave, you know, because it's a it's a toxic environment. So I don't, I don't want you to live in that. I it might look like I live in that on social media, but I'm really hardly on it. I I do my post and ghosting and I'm and I'm I'm not gonna uh uh uh because I have to protect my own mental well-being. So yes, plug in my newsletter. If you can donate, please do, and um follow me and share because my algorithms, if they when they get higher on social media, then our message gets out there. And unfortunately, that is where the game is, and that's where all the misinformation is. But let's let's let's take up more virtual space together. And and definitely we want to share Michelle's podcast, you know, like share this, this, this podcast, help her raise awareness. I mean, what a remarkable lady she is, and her message is so important um in the people she brings on with bringing in all the resources to help. So support us all. Absolutely. And please amplify this message. It is so important. I cannot stress it is if you haven't ever witnessed somebody struggling with the effects of marijuana, I hope you never have to. I hope you never have to, because it is so disturbing and it is so heartbreaking to watch somebody you care about suffer that way. And and it's it really is really difficult to recognize your loved one when they're in that state. And so we we need to share this message. We need to help people understand how dangerous this really is and do the best we can to counteract all the misinformation and lies that have been told that are leading people to suffering. So thank you so much for what you're doing. Please go and subscribe to her newsletter. Please, you know, follow her on social media. I'll put all the links in the in the show notes, and please share her message. Thank you so much, Aubrey. Thank you, Michelle. Until next time, Upsiders. Thanks for joining me on the Upside of Bipolar. Your journey to recovery matters, and I'm grateful you're here. For more resources, visit www.theupsideofbipolar.com. If you're ready to dive deeper, grab my book, The Upside of Bipolar, seven steps to heal your disorder. If you're ready to heal your symptoms, join my monthly membership, The Upsiders Tribe, to transform chaos into hope. Until next time, Upsiders.