As Kentucky continues to implement legislation to legalize medical marijuana in 2025, Gene Cole continues to warn of the potential dangers.
Cole, executive director of the Kentucky Ethical League and pastor of Corinthian Baptist Church in Webster County, was even more alarmed after hearing a presentation by Laura Stack, whose son Johnny committed suicide in 2019 after years of marijuana use. did.
“The marijuana problem is bigger than we think,” Cole said, adding that more than 100 Kentucky cities and counties have licensed cannabis-related businesses such as growers, processors and dispensaries in their communities. have voiced opposition to a ballot measure that would allow .
Stack said her son had been smoking concentrated marijuana almost nonstop for two weeks using e-cigarettes and other devices with his college roommate.
“He texted me that he felt suicidal,” Stack said. “He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and eventually diagnosed with severe THC use.”
THC is a compound found in cannabis that makes users feel high.
“Research shows that teens who use marijuana are two to four times more likely to develop mental health disorders, such as depression and suicidal thoughts, than teens who do not use marijuana. We know that,” Stack said.
She said her son tried unsuccessfully to quit smoking marijuana, worsening his mental health crisis. Mr. Stack recounted a conversation in which Johnny told him that his room was being bugged.
“Johnny was confident that the FBI was listening to him,” she said.
He returned to the hospital, but after being discharged he continued to struggle with cannabis use and his mental illness worsened.
Although she is not entirely sure, Stack believes that severe psychotic symptoms brought on by the powerful marijuana contributed to her son's suicide. He jumped to his death from a building. Security camera footage showed him waving his arms as if he was trying to fly.
“I'm absolutely convinced that if Johnny hadn't used cannabis, he wouldn't have developed a mental illness,” Stack said.
Under the law passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Andy Beshear in 2023, marijuana is legal for use only for qualifying medical conditions and prohibits users from “ingesting the plant material by smoking.” But Cole says the dangers from products such as gummies containing THC are still real.
“When taken through food, it takes 30 to 45 minutes to feel the effects,” Cole says. “If users don't feel the effects right away, it's easy to overdose. By the time they start feeling the effects, it's too late and they've overdosed.”
Cole said Laura Stack's story is “still processing” and that it would be “depressing for the foreseeable future” if voters approve marijuana operations in Kentucky, even for medical use. .
He is concerned that medical cannabis is available to young people, even though it is only allowed for use by people over 18.
Cole found that chronic marijuana use among students leads to lower grades, higher dropout rates, increased absenteeism, and long-term changes in brain structure that lead to cognitive problems in adulthood. Many studies were pointed out.
Scholastic Choices Magazine recently published an article chronicling the story of Johnny Stack. The magazine reported that he was “active in church and enjoyed sports.”
But after he started using marijuana at age 14, he went from getting an A to getting a D in his final year.
Paranoia and death followed. Johnny Stack was 19 years old.
