Marijuana-Induced Psychosis on Rise Among Young People

“When Garrett Rigg moved from a ‘transitional living program’ facility near Chicago last month into a group home, it was a major milestone for the 27-year-old, who traveled 1,000 miles from his home in Denver to get treatment after a cannabis-induced psychotic break five years ago. Rigg had to leave his hometown because it lacked suitable long-term treatment, according to his mother, Connie Kabrick. The three marijuana dispensaries at the intersection a half block from her home are the reason why she says he can't move back. As marijuana increasingly becomes legalized, parents of children who make up the mounting cases of cannabis-induced psychosis and other mental illness say treatment is far less available than the pot they say is linked to the conditions. Rutgers University opened an Adolescent Substance Evaluation Service in July at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The staff includes fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry who refer patients to providers at the hospital or in the community. Wun Jung Kim, a child psychiatrist and professor at the Rutgers medical school, estimates at least half of young people come in because of marijuana-related conditions. He says, ‘I don’t think society takes use of marijuana seriously in kids.’ Parents struggle to convince their young adult children that marijuana led to or worsened their condition. Some, including Sharon Burns Southard, lost the battle. Her 24-year-old son started having ‘schizophrenic episodes’ six months before he died by suicide in July 2018.”

“As marijuana-induced psychosis rises, parents say treatment for young people hard to find,” USA Today, Jan. 6, 2020

---