MOSES LAKE — Laura Stack, CEO and founder of Johnny’s Ambassadors, will be speaking at 6 p.m. on March 30 at Columba Basin Technical Skills Center in Moses Lake regarding the risks associated with marijuana use.

Stack founded the organization after her son, Johnny Stack, died by suicide in 2019.

“Johnny had no medical issues, no mental illnesses until he used marijuana and no genetic history for psychosis. He wasn't depressed, neglected, or unloved. But after getting a ‘medical’ marijuana card and using high-THC products, Johnny became psychotic, paranoid and delusional,” Stack said in a statement.

She feels her son would still be alive were it not for his use of marijuana which has been engineered to have higher concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol – commonly referred to as THC – than during the hippie era of the 1960s it was known for.

According to the National Library of Medicine, THC concentrations in cannabis have increased from about 4% in the mid-1990s to about 12% today.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about three in 10 marijuana consumers have cannabis use disorder, and it’s possible that marijuana can cause problems with heart, lung and brain health as well as increasing risks for some cancers. Further, the CDC says that THC use can have mental health impacts such as paranoia, hallucinations, schizophrenia and depression. Some users may also face suicidal thoughts.

Stack is expected to speak regarding her son’s situation and her personal experiences after learning more about the difference in marijuana decades ago compared with today’s THC products.

Renew, the Grant County Health District, the Moses Lake School District, the Moses Lake Community Health Center, the Grant County Suicide Prevention Task Force and the Moses Lake Community Coalition are hosting Stack for this event. She hopes educating parents will help them help their children avoid the issues Johnny faced.

“Today’s THC products are lab-designed, high-potency and dangerous for the developing brains of young people,” she said in the statement. “Help keep other teens from following Johnny’s path and talk to your children.”