Fortitude: Turning Tragedy into Action
A podcast by the Parent Action Network (PAN), a division of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), dedicated to amplifying the voices of parents whose lives have been devastated by the harmful effects of marijuana. Each episode features personal interviews with parents sharing their heart-wrenching stories of loss, addiction, and the impact on their families. Through these powerful narratives, PAN aims to educate, inspire, and mobilize listeners to take action against the widespread dangers of marijuana use.
Fortitude: Turning Tragedy into Action
When Hope Turns to Heartache: Maria's Battle with Medical Marijuana for Autism
What happens when a single mom and sole caregiver to her adult, non-verbal autistic son trusts the advice of her doctor to use medical marijuana to treat her son’s sleep issues? Join us as Maria recounts the emotional turmoil highlighting the frustrations encountered when cannabis-induced psychosis is not adequately recognized by medical professionals. An experience she can only describe as an absolute nightmare, Maria shares how she struggles to navigate the aftermath of the impact medical marijuana had on both Matt’s physical and mental health.
We unravel the complexities of marijuana’s impact on mental and physical health when a pre-existing medical condition exists. This story underscores the importance of understanding the dangerous misconceptions touting marijuana as a natural benign product and the dire need for better medical diagnoses and treatments for affected individuals.
Join us as we follow Maria through her evolving journey of advocacy and support. From connecting with the Parent Action Network to raising awareness about the unpredictable dangers of regulated legal marijuana products, this story is a powerful reminder of the true cost of misinformation.
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Greetings everyone. I'm Chrissy Groenwegen, the director of the Parent Action Network, the grassroots division of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, dedicated to amplifying the voices of families whose lives have been devastated by the harmful effects of marijuana. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Fortitude. I like to tell the story about why I gave the name Fortitude to this podcast, and I chose that title, because fortitude means showing coverage in the face of grief and adversity. I couldn't think of a better word to exemplify the brave parents and families that stand up, despite their pain, to fight big marijuana and the false narrative that marijuana is a safe and harmless product. I hope that each episode leaves you with a profound understanding of the urgent need for awareness, better regulations and the power of community support in addressing the challenges posed by today's marijuana products. Now I'd like to introduce our guest this week, maria from Pennsylvania.
Speaker 1:Maria's story is a little bit unique in some of the stories we've heard in the past where marijuana is concerned, because she comes to us with a story of her adult son, matt, who has low functioning autism.
Speaker 1:Since he was 16 months old, maria has spent her whole life taking care of him and being his sole caregiver and advocating for his needs. Prior to the pandemic, right around his 21st birthday, matt was set to graduate from high school and looking forward to a future. Despite his disabilities, he was a happy, thriving young man. When the pandemic hit, no one could have imagined the changes that would happen, so marijuana came into the picture when Maria was introduced to the idea of perhaps trying quote unquote medical marijuana to address some of Matt's growing issues. Now I'm going to let Maria give us a little bit of background, and she's going to start by telling us a little bit about what her life was like prior to their introduction to marijuana. Maria, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you. I know how hard you work to advocate for Matt and I thank you so much for making the time to be our guest today.
Speaker 2:Thank you, christy, I'm happy to be here and thank you for having me. So Matt has had many challenges since he was diagnosed. He's very low functioning, he's nonverbal, he doesn't communicate. Low functioning, he's nonverbal, doesn't communicate. We've tried multiple forms of communication too.
Speaker 2:But you know, even though he had all those challenges, he was a happy kid. You basically could take him anywhere. Uh, he was just happy to be out, um, just, uh, just a happy, go lucky kid, not just a joy to be around. And um, during the, the pandemic, there was a lot of things that were happening. Then he was going to be 21. And, uh, he also was going to graduate. And um, the pandemic really, just, uh, um really hit a lot of people, and in different ways. So we all have something that we could say about the pandemic, how it affected us With Matt and it's very typical with autistic individuals if they don't have a routine one of the main things is they don't sleep, and I mean they don't sleep.
Speaker 2:If you're lucky, they sleep two hours a night, and I went for probably four or five months with about two hours of sleep, and so did he, and that is not healthy for either of us. It was really taking a toll on me and I was worried about his health, and so that's pretty much where it went. It went from, you know, matt being just a happy kid to even the first year of being on the so-called medical marijuana. He was still happy. It didn't happen right away. Put it to you that way. It didn't happen immediately, way, put it to you that way. It didn't happen immediately. It was slow, a slow process, and it took quite a while to really find that that was the culprit of all of his mental health, new mental health things and physical things and it took one doctor in the ER in June of last year is the one who brought it to my attention about the marijuana Before that, not one doctor, not one specialist, nobody.
Speaker 2:They thought it was just autistic behavior, which, if you think of that, that's very possible At that time, because you don't know any different. We're not thinking it's anything that he's taking. You're told the medical marijuana is great, it's amazing, it heals, it stops seizures. And I'm not knocking any of the parents who, because I was one of those parents that believed that it could help, and I don't I don't know if I could have done any more research, because I did do research before I decided and everything was positive, positive, positive, positive. So that's basically where we were before him being introduced to the medical marijuana.
Speaker 1:And you know you bring up a couple of really good points. So, yeah, you did your research but, as you said, most of the pro research out there and of course big marijuana has the money to promote this as therapeutic support, the idea that medical marijuana may be helpful for certain ailments involved with autism, and that is a very concerning thought if you think about it, because, again, as we know, none of this quote unquote, medical marijuana is approved by the FDA. There's a huge difference between marijuana as medicine that has been approved by the FDA and that is very, very specific concentrations of medical marijuana, of marijuana as medicine. So there are only three on the market sold in a pharmacy. Only three on the market sold in a pharmacy must be prescribed. And if you get that in Pennsylvania, new York, timbuktu, it doesn't matter if you go to a pharmacy with that prescription from an actual doctor. For one of three two involving cancer, one involving childhood epilepsy that prescription that you pick up from wherever you pick it up is going to be the same wherever you go. That's federally approved.
Speaker 1:But the ploy of marijuana as medically helpful has yet to be proven and this is really all about the almighty dollar. So we're going to learn more from Maria's story about what she went through upon receiving a medical marijuana card, but I will let her tell you more about that. And again, there's no judgment here, but it's a resounding pattern that, as parents, you did the research and you also trust your doctors and you trust the hype, also trust your doctors and you trust the hype. So, prior to legalization, a lot of people, and even throughout legalization, were like well, you know, it's a plant, well it's, it's got to be safer than alcohol, and that's just how people feel. So I'm asking you, maria, prior to this incident and prior to what you knew about marijuana, what were your feelings about legalization?
Speaker 2:I really didn't think too much about anything really because I didn't know much about it. I, you know, when I was younger, you know, I tried it once. Personally didn't like it. I didn't like it because it made me paranoid and I didn't like that. So I kind of just never thought about it again.
Speaker 2:To be honest, I didn't hear about it till the PCP mentioned it and I'm just so busy with Matt I don't really catch up on all the things that are going on all the time because I'm basically living and breathing autism and behavioral therapists and school and IEPs and everything like that. And then when he was having the insomnia and she mentioned she could give him drugs, which I'm not a big fan of. I mean, I'm not against, but I like to try that and she knows I like to try natural things. So she, oh, it's natural, it's safe, I'm having. This was the thing that I remember very clearly that she said I'm having a lot of success with other patients with sleep and I thought, well, let me. I didn't say yes right away. I went home and went on the internet and the main things and at this point I didn't know that you really had to search really hard, like really hard on actual answers because, as we know, a lot of things are bought and paid for and the big money is paying for the top searches and we know that now. So they're going to have that. It's oh, it's wonderful and you know and it's terrible because they're kind of pulling on the heartstrings of patients, parents, everybody that it's a cure for your pain, it's a cure for your insomnia, it's good for you, it's safe, it's healthy. They know what you want to hear, which is what our PCP did.
Speaker 2:The PCP and I looked at all the records so I can back up everything. I'm going to say so in August 2020, I go to see this doctor for the first time. By October, just a few months later, I'm applying for a medical marijuana card. What does that say? There was nothing in between that like, let's try this or let's do this, or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It was the medical marijuana is going to save everything. I'm like, okay, well, I'm exhausted, I can't function. My son, it's going to make him sick and me sick, because when you don't sleep two hours a night, it's eventually going to destroy your immune system. And, like I said, all of the research, it was wonderful.
Speaker 2:People were moving to Colorado with their kids and again you know, again there's no judgment there, because we all want something to help the family, because it's not just the child, it's the family, because there's a lot of strife and siblings. So you want some sort of normalcy. Can you sleep for six hours a night, Can you get up and not have a tantrum or whatever? But Matt's behaviors really didn't start right away with the medical marijuana. It was again like I said before.
Speaker 2:It was like a switch went off about a year later, give or take, and it's been a nightmare ever since. And to get anybody to believe me, has been a nightmare because they automatically default to it's autism. Or I know other individuals where the child must have had mental health issues. No, how about that causing the mental health issue? How about causing an exaggeration of autistic behaviors? Everything that I'm seeing now because things are coming out and I've gotten better at actual finding truth and researching, thanks to you and a couple other wonderful people, I've been able to find okay, so I'm not crazy. This could have caused a lot of behaviors that he had and still has, Mm-hmm. So it's been a challenge.
Speaker 1:Yes, would you share with us a little bit the process once you obtained that medical marijuana card, what it was like getting the recommended prescription, so to speak, the recommended dosage, from the medical marijuana dispensary?
Speaker 2:There was none. There was nothing, nothing from the PCP One visit with a pharmacist when you first get your card, no follow-ups or anything. And the kids that are working there, they're users and they're good kids. They were very nice and trying to help, but the problem was I was walking out of there with $300 worth of medical marijuana every couple of weeks because that's how it was. Oh, try this, this isn't working. Try Sativa, try this, try that, try gummies how about this? And I'm desperate because it's still not helping him sleep. That really did nothing for sleep at all.
Speaker 1:Right, and mind you that this was a medical marijuana dispensary. So imagine walking into a medical marijuana dispensary with your medical marijuana card and saying I need some kind of product for my adult son's sleep issues and he has autism. What do you recommend?
Speaker 2:Right. Oh yeah, they recommended a bunch of stuff, and usually they first of all Chrissy. It was one to one CBD, thc. That seemed to work good. But you know, it was funny because every time I would go back there they wouldn't have that and I would be like, okay, well, this is what worked for him.
Speaker 2:So now, what do I do? And they're like well, if you take this one over here and this one over here and you put two drops of this, you have to become a chemist after a while. And how do I know what's actually in there? Now I know there's a lot of poisons in it, in addition to what they're saying in it. They're not putting everything on the label. I mean, why would you put that? They're putting poisons in it? They don't you know, the kids that are giving it to you don't know. I don't think they do. I mean, I do believe that they're getting it from somebody that's bringing it in and here you sell it and I'm telling you you try this, you try that and do this and get double strength, triple strength, and you could save money by just doing two drops of this. And then who knows how strong the double and triple strength really are? You don't know, because we're not chemists. I don't have a lab in my house where I can come home and test what it is they're giving.
Speaker 2:I just trusted them because I trusted the doctor and she said that it was great and everything else and it's wonderful. And then, on top of that, I was getting people all around me that were taking it, people that were older, my age, middle age, young. Everybody was doing it and they're talking about how great it is. Well, it might be great at first, but what damage does it do? Not just to your brain, but Matt lost a hundred pounds in 10 months. Wow, that is not an autistic behavior. Even though I had to have a conversation with the GI that she said well, she thinks it's autistic behavior. I said that's not autistic behavior. How he got to be heavier was autistic behavior, because it's compulsivity. That's typical. I mean, that's not even just autism. I have a problem with that, but it's just blew my mind that nobody in the medical field would say what they thought it was. It was always a redirection a redirection away from it, because there's a lot of money that they're getting from the industry. The industry is huge, very big money, and money talks. You know that if you can pay off a politician, you can pay off this. Pay off doctors. That's just the way it is. But the problem is how many people are damaged because of the love of money they lie to you.
Speaker 2:Little Matt had to take the tincture. So if I go to Rite Aid, my pharmacy, I go and I get a prescription. I'm going to get a prescription. That's the same all the time. I had no idea what was in there after I found out that I couldn't trust them from one wonderful doctor in the ER he's the one that told me last year this is not normal. And then he wanted to test them for testicular cancer. Well, he lost a hundred pounds and I said, wow, that's, that's really odd. Why are you asking that? And he said because the majority of the young men Matt's age coming in here on the medical marijuana are testing positive for testing not testing, but their testicular cancer. So I don't know if testing positive. That's probably not the proper way to say that, but so there's a correlation there and there's a correlation with the GI. It doesn't just affect the brain, so that's the main one, but it's the whole body.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And again, your story just brings up so many points, the most important one being that this came from a medical dispensary. Because, again, we hear a lot of stories about the younger kids, the high school kids, that are trying these products, whether they're getting it from a legal recreational dispensary or getting it from friends on the street who knows where it's coming from, or getting it from the gas stations that are selling this product. That's falling through the farm bill loophole. First of all, the kids are all under age. They shouldn't be using it anyway, but they're getting it from a variety of places where we know that there's not really regulation. But the argument by the pro pot industry is that, oh well, medical marijuana is regulated and, of course, your story is a perfect example of no, it's really not.
Speaker 2:No, it's not.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your story is also a testament to the fact that, while these employees in the stores are just doing their job, you cannot blame them for wanting a job. What we also know is that when they apply for these jobs, they're given a chart. Here's your education. Somebody comes in and says I have migraines, you recommend this. Somebody comes in and says I have morning sickness, I mean they'll even give it to pregnant women. And then you come in and say, well, my son has sleep issues. And, like you told us earlier, you go in, you get what they give you, you pay for it, you run out of it, you go back. They don't even have what you originally had.
Speaker 1:And they give you something else.
Speaker 1:And as you said, you then have to become a chemist has so many very important points. And again, you mentioned and I know your story, of course, but you mentioned the one ER doctor that helped you. And so that was my next question is once you were aware, regardless of what anyone else was telling you, and you were aware that this was because of the marijuana and you started to look for help, did you find and I'm not talking about the supportive helps yet, we're going to get into that, of course but from a medical perspective did you find anyone that that agreed with you that this was the marijuana, and what did they recommend you do since, if they believed that it was because of marijuana?
Speaker 2:So the end of June of 23 is when he was in one of the local hospitals here that that wonderful God bless that doctor. He said I need to get him off. He called it poison so and he's an ER doctor, so he's seeing the effects of it. He suggested that I contact the PCP right away to have her guide me. She would not call me back. She was on vacation multiple times. I'm like what the heck? How are you on vacation all the time as a PCP, don't you have somebody? No, she doesn't have anybody.
Speaker 2:And that's when I started to see some things fall into place that made me wonder if she was just a PCP or a pusher. That's the old way of saying it. But if you think about it, when I started looking through my records at that point she was only in the office two days a week for two and a half hours an evening, so a total of five hours a week. At least one week vacation every month, and I thought something's not right. That is not a PCP. Now, I didn't have to do that research before because I only needed her every now and then, but then, once he was on the medical marijuana, then there were more issues. There was a lot of different physical things, mental things happening back to back to back. So that ER doctor said you should contact your PCP. So that was the end of June. So that was the end of June. I wasn't able to get an appointment with her until August. So she was purposely ignoring me. So she knew that. That doctor, the ER doctor, said that he needs to get off of the medical marijuana and she needs to guide me. Well, she didn't want to guide me. Put him on it. So in the interim we had to have another ER visit because he got psychotic again, had to have police intervention, had to take him to a psychiatric hospital that's down in the area where I live and they weren't really able to help him.
Speaker 2:Only because so I can't leave him without one. He needs one on one. He doesn't communicate, he can't tell you what's going on, even if he has to go to the bathroom. I tried to explain to them down there. You're not going to know if he has to go to the now they're going to have to keep him strapped in. So he would have to be strapped in, sedated again and left to urinate on himself because nobody knows. And they're not doing anything wrong. I'm not saying that because they're overwhelmed themselves but I could not leave him because of that and I said I'll stay. As long as I can stay here with him, he'll stay, we'll work together. And they would not allow me to stay, and I do understand part of that. But every door just kept closing.
Speaker 2:I called everyone I can't even remember how many, christy, to be honest with you because I called autism places. I called drug rehab places. There was only one drug rehab place that would see me, just to talk to me. That went. He had to freak out there and then when I showed them, they were actually going to do the autism thing too. Well, we think it's autism because that's just the easiest thing to do. Say it's just autism Because of course, a lot of people don't believe that the marijuana causes these problems.
Speaker 2:And then when you already have a type of a disability or an issue that they can default back to, to blame it instead of the actual culprit, then that's what they're going to do. And that's what I've been dealing with for years now, just to get someone to believe me. And so finally, I had an appointment with the PCP in August and she put him on Ativan. At that point I still wasn't thinking that she was doing things on purpose to hurt Matt. You know, I didn't know even what Ativan was. To be honest with you. She said this will help relax him. And I had shingles right in the middle of that so I was not sleeping still. So it was a nightmare and I was hoping that she would guide. She made them worse again. So now we're having problems with the Ativan.
Speaker 2:So it's very hard to get people to believe how dangerous this can be and unfortunately, until they go through the situation and whether it's a physical situation or like with Matt, I'm like no, that's not autism. I'm looking at him, that's not autism, he's psychotic and it's a challenge and I've really had nobody really help. I know excuse me, I need to say our psychiatrist, who we found through a local. She deals with autism. She has. She has impressed me tremendously for a young, young lady I didn't think she was going to know a lot about the addiction part, but she she actually really done and she actually knows that. The medical marijuana well, she's living it. Other patients who are autistic who did the same thing. You know the parents are going through the same thing, whether they're high functioning or low functioning. So this is almost like a delayed reaction kind of thing here. Take it, it's great, you'll feel good, it'll take away your pain, it'll take away whatever else you're taking it for, but a year down the road you're spiraling out of control. Nobody knows how to help you.
Speaker 1:Right, and sometimes a lot sooner. So how long has Matt been off medical marijuana now?
Speaker 2:The last time was June of 23. When piece, when that doctor told me in the ER, I took him off immediately.
Speaker 1:Right and he's still suffering some residual effects.
Speaker 2:Yes, not my same son, I. This is a boy that, if anybody knows anything about autism, um, they're. They do a lot of things that that you're kind of used to. He would watch the same video over and over again. I would watch Toy Story and all of the Disney videos and all of the VeggieTales and all the Wiggles and it was repetitive and repetitive and repetitive. And same way with the food. And he loved to swim. Oh my gosh, you could not get him out of a pool. You could not get him out of a pool.
Speaker 2:He loved his books. He had books. I had so many different kinds of books. He would sit there.
Speaker 2:No, he can't tell me he's reading them, but I actually think he was, because when he was in school, before the pandemic, they were doing a typing thing where you can actually type, and he typed. The lady asked him what do you want when you go to heaven? Because it was a story about the pharaohs. He typed I want knowledge. Blew away. How does he know how to spell knowledge? First of all. So he was absorbing, teaching himself how to read. Now he does all. So he was absorbing, self-teaching himself how to read. Now he does nothing. He wants to sleep all day. He doesn't want to watch any of his videos, he does not want to go near a pole Breaks my heart.
Speaker 2:So it did something to him and nobody knows what to tell me it did, because nobody's ever really done any massive research on this stuff. They have done it years ago with the weed from when I grew up, but this is not more potent and has so many more chemicals and poisons in it, so know the effect without having a long-term study. Because anytime you hear a scientist or a doctor, they're always referring to long-term study. Because anytime you hear a scientist or a doctor, they're always referring to long-term studies. There are no long-term studies that I know of, because this is new still. This is still brand new. I've got friends that are starting to do it and they're loving it. Meanwhile, a year ago they hated it. It's just bizarre.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is. That's a good word. I'm so sorry for everything that you're going through for Matt, and I pray for you every day and hope that he comes around and that you get your Matt back. You are blessed and lucky to still have him in your life, though, so, you know, I hope that he starts to do better and come back to the boy he was for you. Thank you. I do want to ask you how you came to be aware of PAN when you started to look for other support in addition to the medical support for Matt. So how did you come to be aware of PAN and other agencies that you found helpful?
Speaker 2:So, since I had no real guidance, I sat on the computer and that's all I did. I did research as much as I can. What can it do? What can it do? Support groups, and that's where I came across, first of all, every Brain Matters.
Speaker 2:wonderful Aubrey, who has been such a blessing, such a kind, kind and caring person, and, uh, and then she introduced me to you yes, she did are also a kind and caring person, and then you guys have been so supportive of me and Matt and just always when I feel like giving up and many times I feel like giving up I don't give up, but I'm saying I feel like giving up. So, you know, when you don't see any improvement or and it's been such a long road and and then you hear of other stories of parents who lose their kids, and it just breaks my heart because no parent should ever go through that, especially from something that's being pushed for the love of money, and just many different instances. Whenever I read other people's story, I pray for them too, because maybe it's a husband, it's a spouse, it's a friend. Who knows what my friends are going to go through a year from now. They all have health problems. It's helping them right now, but a year from now what's going to happen?
Speaker 2:I tried to show them that the thing that's the most frustrating is you try to show them facts. I have facts. I, when I show people stuff here, I want you to listen to this. I print stuff out. They refuse to look at it. They refuse and it's so hard because they're wonderful people. They're just being deceived.
Speaker 1:Yep and drinking the Kool-Aid. As we said, yes, yes, and it is true. You know, in this industry those of us who are in this industry, we know at least one person. We may even have family members that are using these products. You know, and it doesn't matter what you tell them, what we do for a living, they just are buying into the hype and it can be really scary sometimes.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because we know the truth, we really know the truth and, and you know, luckily it is becoming more out there. People are beginning to see we don't begin to compete with the pro pot industry.
Speaker 1:They have so many billions of dollars, but we have to keep doing what we're doing, and you know I commend parents like you who are angry and hurting but, as you said, don't want others to go through what we're going through.
Speaker 1:And so you find purpose in this advocacy. And, for those of you listening out there, we have lots of opportunities here at PAN and we have parents like Maria who have taken not just the time to participate in this podcast, but to also participate in webinars with us and tell some stories in our newsletter. And so two months ago, Maria was our guest on the Pan monthly webinar where she talked about this story, and her story was basically supported by the incredible Dr Aaron Weiner, who shared with us all about you know the differences between medical marijuana and marijuana as medicine, and how this is really not a medical product, and for those of you who would like to see that episode, you can access it from our website. It is available for viewing at your leisure. Besides raising your voice about this issue, is there anything else that's helped you move forward in this or is beginning to advocate and raise your voice and tell your story? It for you.
Speaker 2:Well, I turned to prayer, um, because God is going to get us through it. And although I see, like today, he had a massive, massive issue this morning, for no reason to know what happened, um, he can't tell me what he's feeling and my heart breaks when I see him looking psychotic because I don't know what he sees. What does he feel? Does he hear things? He can't participate. So, you know, if he was going to a psychiatrist, it's psychiatrist isn't going to get any feedback from him because he doesn't speak or doesn't communicate. So I could say what I think it is, but there's, you know, there's not. It's.
Speaker 2:It's frustrating because I don't think most doctors are trying to hurt people, but I do think there are ones that do not care about the health of the patient and they care about the money. Take, for instance, the doctor that my PCP. As I said, she was just there a couple times a week for just a few hours, but she was connected to a bigger doctor that I've never seen. He was the main name on everything on the weed card from the state and when I looked at his website, it is so unbelievable how he is pushing the weed. He actually says it's safer than Tylenol and he also has many opportunities for you to get your weed card and it doesn't take much. So basically all you got to do is be breathing and get a weed card.
Speaker 2:So he'd be somebody who would. He's capable of saying well, you have anxiety, you know what, you're really, really anxious, let's get you that weed card. Then he's making the money from the industry Because why would he be kind of pushing aside same with my RPCP, pushing aside actual being a doctor for regular doctor things. So there must be that amount of money involved in it that is taken over there. They no longer want to be a doctor, basically a weed pusher. Sorry to be so blunt, but that's what they're doing.
Speaker 1:But you're absolutely right and yes, I remember when you shared that website with me and it's interesting because, again, maria's in Pennsylvania, I'm in New York right when marijuana began to become more legalized than just the three original states 10 years ago in the past couple of years, right, that's when this really exploded. I remember there were, you know, three or four qualifying conditions to get a medical marijuana card. It was not that easy and some states actually it could be difficult. You know, new York was one of those states where it wasn't that easy to get a medical marijuana card right off the bat. Now I'm in a state and I think Pennsylvania is pretty close to this, judging from that website where the doctor is selling medical marijuana cards, but in New York everything is a qualifying condition for marijuana.
Speaker 1:So, you could have a hangnail and get a medical marijuana card. It's really outrageous. And and again, you know where in the world is there a medicine or a product that cures absolutely everything? Doesn't exist, you know, and these are very hard lessons we're learning, while people are suffering and struggling and, like you said, matt is alive Many of our parents in our network are living with children who are still struggling, some recovering, but it's a long, slow road and, of course, so many parents who have lost their children to cannabis induced psychosis and some even to some other physical ailments. So it is just absolutely heartbreaking legislators and fighting against this complete legalization across the country.
Speaker 2:Yeah. The thing that makes me laugh is that they say, oh, it's natural. Yeah, it's natural. There's a lot of poisonous things that are natural too. I have to worry about plants in my backyard with my dogs because they're poisonous.
Speaker 1:So that's a really good point.
Speaker 2:It's not because it's natural doesn't mean it can't kill you, Right you know?
Speaker 1:it's natural doesn't mean it's safe. Yeah, but again, today's marijuana is really not natural anymore because take, take the hemp derivatives, for instance. Hemp was a harmless thing. It was a necessary agricultural plant needed for producing fabric and rope and materials. And what happened? You know materials and what happened? Well, this industry took advantage of that and our lab altering this product into a very harmful, dangerous product that, unfortunately, is falling through a loophole and deemed illegal. So you know, and those are the hemp products, like Delta-8 and Delta-10 and THCO and so many others.
Speaker 1:But again, people are waking up. Sadly, a lot of the time it's because they've suffered an incident. You know, and we know a few legislators and you know people in high places that have suffered before they come forward. And I think the more people come forward and the more we raise our voices and the more we spread these stories and, of course, the more that the science comes out, because there are tens of thousands of studies on this product that prove that it is not medically capable of curing all the things it's claiming to be able to cure. You know, is there some possible therapeutic, therapeutic use for marijuana? Very possibly, but this cannot be studied for a year and be deemed so. This requires years and years and years and years of more study.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I can't prove this, but this is just a mom just doing as much research as I can. I feel that they've made it more addictive. How better to keep a client than to make it more addictive? Absolutely, hear other people telling you that it's not good for you, just like that doctor told me young men Matt's age in the 20s are coming in with testicular cancer. Typically that should scare a young man if they think that that's going to happen. But that's not what they're told.
Speaker 2:And if you're putting poisons in it as well, many chemicals, just like the one I think it was LA Times piece that was done about how many different chemicals were in medical marijuana, medical stuff you get at the dispensary and if I remember correct, that report was 50% of it had high toxic levels of poisons in it. So if you add that to already poison, if they're up in the THC level, what do you have? That's a toxic cocktail. Basically is what it is. And they're not giving support to the families, they're not giving support to the individuals, because the first place I called I think it was in Ohio the lady told me that insurance does not cover the medical marijuana if you go into a detox center. I said are you serious? She says yes, and it's sad because we're coming across a lot of people who need it, but it's $5,000 a week. Who has $5,000 a week? So you're basically. Basically it's almost like they're setting it up so that you don't get help.
Speaker 2:And if you get help, do the doctors actually know how to help you? It may not be that they want to hurt you. They may want to help you, but how do they help? They don't know how. No, because there's no way of saying all right, what were you taking? Were you doing gummies? Were you getting this batch that had in it, or this batch that has this chemicals in it that actually changed your whole body.
Speaker 2:How you detox, your body flushes out toxins, is now backing up in your body and I found in mine's a little bit different in the respect of people don't know what to do with math the way it is, and I, you know, was angry at first, but I really don't think a lot of the people that I came across or that I called intentionally didn't want to help Matt. I just think they just didn't their families what they go through. I just think that there's not families where it's just not, it's not their fault. It's not their fault that their child or their husband or their wife because this stuff is so toxic, it changes who they are, and you know it's not.
Speaker 2:I seen so many of them and it just breaks my heart, chrissy, because maybe their son is typical and they can't control him. They don't know where he's at, and when I read some of the stories, the first thing I do is I pray for them, because I couldn't imagine. We all have different challenges, all of us. Whenever I hear of a family, a mom or a dad, that lost their son and they're no longer with them.
Speaker 2:It's just so sad that a lot of this has to do with just money, because that's what it is. They're not worried about people getting better, they're worried about how much profit they can make, and I know that sounds mean, but that's what I believe. That's what I see. Look at that doctor that works with our old PCP. She's no longer a PCP now. Yeah, we're done.
Speaker 1:PCP. She's no longer a PCP now. Yeah, we're done, we know that you're right and that this is an addiction for profit industry because, as you said, we addict them young and have lifelong customers. And then also, as you said, while there are many other issues that go along with Matt's stories because of the autism, One thing we do know regardless is that Matt is only 24, 25. And so his brain still falls in that range and throughout this whole process certainly did in that vulnerable, underdeveloped brain.
Speaker 1:You know, I mean they're saying that the brain doesn't fully develop until possibly 30 years old. So this product, and even the product of the past, alters the brain. But today's product we know, I mean, and there have been studies on that and MRIs and diagrams and you know electromagnetic images of the brain before and after marijuana use and clearly the brain is negatively impacted by today's high potency THC and the deltas and all the other mind altering products that are being lab altered. Yeah, so it's, it's awful and again, we just have to keep fighting this fight and telling our stories. So, before we finish, is there anything you'd like to tell any other parents or families listening to help them on their journey?
Speaker 2:I think, basically, support is so important If you have someone wonderful like you and Aubrey that when you feel like giving up, you just sometimes need to hear that, even though you're not right next to me, just that words of encouragement to you know, you're there for us, um, anything that you can do just to listen to me talk sometimes. Sometimes I think we just need someone to listen, um, and not judge and not compare. It's more of a you know what, you just need to talk. We all need that in just different. More of a you know what. You just need to talk. We all need that in just different ways in our lives. You know, some days you don't really want somebody to fix it. Just listen to me.
Speaker 2:I need to vent because you know well, like with Matt, you know, will my son ever be better? I mean, I've had people tell me it's my fault, that if that was their kid they would have never given him medical marijuana or never let him have the Ativan, or that Matt's no longer autistic, he's got all kinds of other things. And I'm not saying they're wrong, but one thing you don't want to hear when you're in the middle of the storm that it's your fault. You're a horrible parent because you already feel guilty. Right, I already feel guilty. I shouldn't, because it was the doctor that prescribed it and talked me into it, but as a parent, you feel guilty because it's your child, of course, and you know that feeling of guilt should not be put on us, because that does nothing. Guilt does nothing but drown you and keep you in one place, and there's good days and bad days. You're going to have good moments and bad moments, and that's where I turn to my faith.
Speaker 2:Everybody has some type of faith, whether it's. You know, I'm a Christian. I have friends that are Muslim, whatever it is that you believe in, to turn to that higher power and believe that they're going to get you through it and they're going to be walking alongside you along with wonderful angels like you and Aubrey on the earth, your angels on the earth and uh, and just trying to be good to yourself and not beat yourself up as easily it can be when you're watching your child or your loved one frustrated because you, you don't know how to help them, you know. So that's basically my thing is just look for support, turn to your faith, don't beat yourself up as much as we do, because I know I'm not the only one that beats us. You know I beat myself up all the time, but I try not to. So that's a challenge, but I'm getting better at it.
Speaker 1:You are, and I think those are beautiful words of hope for others. Thank you so. Thank you so much again, Maria, for joining us and for sharing this story. I know how hard it can be but again, the more we bring awareness to this issue, the harder it will be for our lawmakers to ignore the facts and finally put public health and wellness before profits. We can only hope so. Before we close, I'd just like to make a couple of quick announcements. Next week, PAN will be hosting their monthly webinar and I hope you can all join us.
Speaker 1:September is National Recovery Month and it's also Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. And in honor of Recovery Month, our webinar will be focused around hope in recovery Recovery from marijuana addiction. There is hope and we are lucky enough to have not only the former director of the Partnership to End Addiction, Fred Munch, will be with us. He is now the CEO and creator of Clear 30, which is a program designed to explore your relationship with marijuana. So Fred will be joining us to talk about recovery, providing tips and strategies and the nuances and complexities in addressing marijuana addiction and recovery and even withdrawal. And then we are really excited about having two families, two moms and their sons, who are in recovery from marijuana addiction and cannabis induced psychosis, and they will be joining us to tell their stories of how they've recovered, how their moms and their family helped them through this and how they continue in their journey. So we're very excited about that.
Speaker 1:And, again, that's next Thursday at 7 pm Eastern time. And then also, Smart Approaches to Marijuana is beginning to plan their summit for February of 2025. And please look out for those invitations and everyone please keep reading the Parent Action Network newsletter, the SAM newsletter, the SAM Drug Report podcast and, of course, please keep listening to the Fortitude podcast. Again, thank you, Maria, for sharing your story, for your bravery and your vigilance in telling your story, and together we got to keep fighting the good fight. I hope you all be safe and well and we'll see you soon for another episode.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Kirstie.
Speaker 1:Thanks, Maria.