CLEVELAND — News 5 was in Michigan when some school leaders sounded the alarm about what legalizing pot does to students in October of 2023.
Now, one year after Ohio legalized recreational marijuana, we’re following through by asking various local school districts to let us know if the increased availability of cannabis products has meant more drug-related incidents in the past year. Plus, we got experts to weigh in on the effects of THC on young, developing minds.
Johnny Stack, at just 14 years old, started using marijuana.
“Johnny was a wonderful person,” said his mother, Laura Stack. “He was a normal, happy, funny young man… with a lot of friends.”
Stack told us it didn’t take long for marijuana to take its hold on her son. “That was just the beginning of five years of battling what very quickly became an obsession for Johnny…doctors, programs, treatments, three mental hospital stays,” said Laura.
Recreational marijuana had just become legal in Colorado, where he and his family lived. “We didn’t know anything about this cannabis induced psychosis,” said Laura. “ It just…it didn’t have to happen,” she added while tears started to form in her eyes.
MI SCHOOL LEADERS SENT WARNING
Before Ohio voters passed recreational pot, News 5 Investigators went to Michigan, where, at the time, that state was five years into its recreational cannabis sales. Students told us they saw “a lot” of kids doing marijuana in school and that it was like “candy” because there is a dispensary practically “on every corner.”
So, we wanted to know what’s happening in Northeast Ohio.
LOCAL SCHOOLS' DRUG-RELATED INCIDENTS
“Education is so much about building relationships,” said Dr. Mike Zalar, who is the current Interim-Superintendent at Avon Local Schools. “The normalizing of marijuana is largely a concern to us because we think it could have long-term, negative consequences,” he added.
He told us that despite the additional availability of marijuana, the district did not see an uptick in kids bringing THC products to schools last year. “It hasn’t increased to the level where we’ve had to change anything significantly,” said Zalar.
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) also reported no real jump in overall marijuana incidents.
“I’m not saying that those aren't things that are issues. I'm not saying that those are, you know, issues and things that we deal with,” said the CEO of CMSD, Dr. Warren Morgan. “But you're asking specifically, with that change of that policy, have I seen anything? Not to my knowledge.”
Public records show that at Parma high schools, drug-related cases dipped by 23 incidents last year. Its middle schools stayed about the same. At Mentor High School, there were fewer drug incidents last year, but in the middle schools, there were eight more cases than the previous school year. Overall, in the Akron School Public Schools, drug incidents went up by 19.
DANGEROUS EFFECTS OF THC ON YOUNG MINDS
“You don’t replace brain cells. Once they’re gone, they’re gone,” said Dr. Nora McNamara, who is a Psychiatrist with 1st Episode Psychosis at The Centers for Families and Children in Cleveland.
She said about two-thirds of the kids who are admitted have symptoms of psychosis.
“So, hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, that psychosis is directly related to heavy cannabis use,” said McNamara. “That’s a lot.”
She told us that even with cannabis products more widely available, she has not seen a jump in youth cases in the last year, but those who treat children are worried. “(We) get really nervous about just looking at how more and more people are accepting cannabis use as just kind of a lifestyle choice,” said Dr. McNamara.
That kind of attitude in Colorado didn’t help Johnny Stack, who ended up taking his own life. His mom said he had no history of mental illness, and the only drug they found in his system was marijuana.
“Those poor brains of these teens are not designed to have that much THC slammed into it,” Laura Stack told us.
JOHNNY'S AMBASSADORS HELPING PEOPLE NATIONWIDE
Stack started a nonprofit called Johnny’s Ambassadors that helps thousands of kids and their families across the country get help with cannabis-related problems.
“And we’ve got to get the word out to teens in Ohio that this stuff is not harmless,” said Stack.
She also told us that three days before Johnny died, he told her she was right about marijuana hurting his brain, “‘And, It has ruined my mind and my life and I’m really sorry, momma. And I love you.’” recalled Laura.
Those who sell legal, recreational cannabis told us they have strong security and strict age-verifying systems in their shops. Those opposed to legal marijuana have said that still doesn’t stop adults from giving products to kids or leaving items out for children to find.
Keep in mind, we are only a year into this. Other states have been dealing with this for a while. News 5 Investigators will stay on top of it and let you know what, if any, impacts legal pot might have down the road.
