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 Legalization Hits Home: A Mother's Fight for Change
Have you ever wondered what happens when marijuana legalization directly impacts your family? Meet Laura Stack, a Colorado mother who transformed her son's tragic suicide into a powerful movement for change and youth protection.
Laura Stack, founder of Johnny's Ambassadors, joins the Fortitude Podcast to share her heartbreaking yet inspiring journey after losing her 19-year-old son Johnny to suicide following years of high-potency marijuana use. With raw honesty, she reveals how Colorado's marijuana legalization in 2014 led to her son's first exposure at age 14 and traces his path toward mental health deterioration.
The statistics Laura presents are alarming: suicide is the leading cause of death for Colorado youth aged 15-18, with THC present in 35% of these cases—more than alcohol or any other substance. This episode pulls back the curtain on how Laura channeled her grief into actionable change, leading a parent coalition that successfully passed Colorado House Bill 1317 regulating marijuana concentrates. The results speak volumes: medical marijuana cards among 18-year-olds dropped from 6,000 to fewer than 1,000 after implementation.
Beyond policy, Laura and host Chrissy Groenwegen discuss the emotional weight of advocacy work as their organizations receive dozens of desperate parents weekly seeking help for children suffering from cannabis-induced psychosis. Their conversation illuminates patterns among affected youth who share similar profiles: promising, talented kids whose lives derailed after cannabis exposure.
Listen now to understand the hidden dangers of today's high-potency products and discover how parents are fighting back against what Laura calls "this poison addiction industry preying on our children." Share this episode with parents, educators, and anyone concerned about youth mental health and substance use.
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Good evening and thanks for joining me for another episode of the Fortitude Podcast. This is Chrissy Groenwegen and, as many of you know, I chose the name Fortitude, as to me, it exemplifies each and every one of the parents in our network that have taken their tragedies and turned them into an opportunity to educate others and raise awareness about today's high potency products. I have nine episodes under the belt and tonight I am excited to change it up a little by hosting a very special guest to mark off my 10th episode. Tonight. I am honored to have an icon in the field, one of the OGs and my dear friend, colorado mom Laura Stack, joining us tonight. Laura took a profound tragedy the loss of her son, johnny and created Johnny's Ambassadors, one of the only evidence-based, science-based middle and high school curriculums designed to educate our youth about the harms of today's high-potency, lab-altered THC products. So thank you so much for taking the time to join me, laura. I am so happy to have you with us tonight.
Speaker 1:You are adorable. I should just take you with me everywhere I go. So thank you for that. I don't know about the OG or icon piece, but thank you, chrissy, for having me. I'm delighted to be here.
Speaker 2:So I know that many people might know your story, but I'm sure there are so many listeners who haven't heard it as well, and so I'd like to begin by talking a bit about your stance regarding legalization, given that you live in the state where this whole debacle began.
Speaker 1:Ah, yes. Well, if you knew my story, you would know that I am vehemently opposed to legalization in any form. Johnny, my son, who sadly died by suicide at the age of 19, started using marijuana at the age of 14 after it was legalized here in my state the very first one to do so back in 2014. So not only do I have a personal story and a tragedy, but now I have seen, with in the past five years, the huge mess that this has created all over the United States with so much access, the addiction that comes from that, the mental health issues, so many parents who have children in cannabis-induced psychosis, and now the number one cause of death in Colorado in our youth ages 15 through 18 is suicide. So Johnny is now a statistic and, sadly, the number one substance found in their toxicology report is THC. It's not alcohol, opioids, fentanyl, prescription meds. 35% of young people 15 to 18 who die by suicide in Colorado have THC in their system. So you can see why I am so opposed to this.
Speaker 1:In fact, when Johnny passed, it was COVID. You remember what happened in early 2020, just a few months after he died, and I was invited to go speak to the state majority leader that summer and formed the basis for what became a huge coalition to pass Colorado House Bill 1317, regulating marijuana concentrates. So I was storming the Capitol and led the parent coalition and they read Johnny's story in closing arguments on the house floor and I was in the galley and everyone stood and looked at us and applauded and it passed unanimously and I felt vindicated that I had finally gotten some justice for Johnny. But it's all of our young people who are victims, who should not have access to this poison, who should not be pawns in the hands of this poison addiction industry preying on our children and wanting to profit off of them.
Speaker 1:So Johnny's victory was a victory for all of our youth and I just hope that other states start to look at Colorado and what we were able to accomplish with that bill putting guardrails in place to protect our youth. Now, instead of 6,000 18-year-olds who had med cards back in 2015, there are under 1,000. So it works, it works. And so what you're doing, chrissy, with PAN, with these parents, with you storming the Capitol?
Speaker 1:with testifying on a national level, on a state level. I am so inspired by you and in awe of you. It took literally all I had in terms of energy and effort. It was exhausting and I just said, you know, I can't do this, and that was, that was it for me. You know, from a parent's perspective. So I just so admire the work that you're doing, Chrissy.
Speaker 2:Well, well, thank you. And and you know, that actually leads me into my next question because you know, hearing these on a weekly basis really takes a toll on myself and PANS Project Coordinator Bronwyn Skinner. We're partners in crime here and so I understand how hard it can be retelling this story. But you know, I mean there was one week in particular that we were so exhausted I actually cried. I mean we had seven new parent interviews in one week, and this is every week there's at least one.
Speaker 2:It's enraging and it's exhausting but yet, like you said, for me it's very inspiring because all of these families have become my family and it is very important to Bronwyn and I to protect these families and advocate for them and to help them raise their voices. So I really appreciate your faith in me and of course, it's the same faith I have in you and everything that you've been doing and have done for years, because, again, we kind of go way back, because in my prevention days I met you and we often talked and I used your curriculum. So we have that history?
Speaker 1:of course, yeah, and it is a family. You know we are, it is we are able to meet people we never would have met, like you.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, but you know, while again I mentioned that I know it's hard to talk about this, I really would appreciate if you could tell us a little bit about prior to Johnny's passing. Were there warning signs? Did you notice any changes? How did you ultimately find out about his use and then his passing?
Speaker 1:his passing. Well, that's a lot packed into that, but let me try to unravel it a bit, and I know exactly what you mean about it being exhausting. When we started, when this all happened, you know we had 10 members, I think, and now, chrissy, we get 25 to 30 new parents every week, and it was just me who? And now? So, if, for what it's worth, we now have a committee of parent mentors 30 people who do intake. So I will leave that there for you, because that might be something you and Bronwyn will need to consider as you continue to grow, because it is just emotionally exhausting. You feel like you're carrying the weight of these parents on your shoulders, and in our case they're all parents whose children are in cannabis induced psychosis, and so it's. It's traumatic and and tragic and awful, and every story needs to be heard and supported.
Speaker 1:You know, Johnny, he was a wonderful young man and and I know you hear this over and over in the parents that you talk with, Chrissy, because they all seem to say the same things. It's amazing. They say, oh my gosh, my son, my daughter, reminds me so much of your Johnny. I mean same thing athletic, smart, musician, engaged involved in in in sports or church or you know these are all really good kids and granted, um, they all made a bad choice along the way, um, but you know they're they're kids and and they just I look at it like, hey, they're good people who made bad choices, but they should never have had access to this stuff. So, you know, johnny used at a party because some friends pressured him basically, and he said all the boys wanted to try to get high. And I know this because he told me. I mean, you have to understand, we were very close as a family.