Great Response from Stanford Medicine’s REACH Lab 2024
The picture above is one of my slides from my presentation for the 2024 Stanford Medicine’s REACH Lab 5th Annual Virtual Teaching Cannabis Awareness & Prevention Conference. This year, I spoke with Dr. Christy Brown. Dr. Brown and I attended the People vs Bryn Spejcher cannabis-induced psychosis involuntary manslaughter trial. In our presentation, I discussed the trial and reviewed the important points. Christy discussed several other similar court cases of shocking violence from around the globe. Afterward, we had a fantastic Q & A period with the attendees. Many had their personal stories of how they’ve been impacted by cannabis-induced psychosis and violence. As the slide shows, there is still a dispute about whether or not cannabis-induced psychosis is real or not.
Whether or not someone believes it’s real, the courts believe it’s real and they are prosecuting people for it.
Here are some comments:
“As an addictions counselor and mental health specialist, it really helped me understand the importance of engaging with state and local governments in developing rules and regulations on the ever-changing world of THC.”
“Excellent presentation on a difficult topic. Very well done!”
“Excellent presentation! Best of the day.”
“Fascinating, sad, relevant topic.”
“Great content, very interesting, the best one I attended.”
“Great presentation. Shared real stories that caught my attention about cannabis psychosis.”
“Great work in pushing for a conversation addressing the impact of today’s “weed” and its role on induced psychosis and potentially leading to schizophrenia.”
“Holy wow! This was mind-blowing to me. The information was absolutely dead on(no pun) to reach teens. Thank you!”
“I appreciate the cases provided as examples of the validity of cannabis-induced psychosis.”
“I learned a lot about the psychoses and how it can just come on.”
“It is horrifying to think that even with knowledge of psychosis leading to death isn’t enough for legislators to step up and modify legislation that would more likely keep teens and adults safer.”
“It was heartbreaking to hear the story and learn about the psychosis that can happen when overdosing on THC.”
“Just fascinating! We are a newer fully legalized state, and the precedents set in these cases will have an impact on us!”
“Heidi is a powerful speaker and easy to listen to.”
“SO interesting, did not know about this case at all! Just goes to show you never know how your brain/body will react with substances.”
“So very informative and well done!”
“Super interesting.”
“The correlation between Cannabis use and violence was very interesting! We definitely need to find ways to get this information to the public and law-changing agencies.”
“The psychosis episodes are more frequent than people think. A lot of conversations about this should be stronger and more prevalent in the world!”
“This was one of the best sessions that I have attended. It heightened my awareness of the need for more marijuana regulation, such as warning labels on ALL packaging of marijuana.”
“This was so enlightening and important! Information we can share where we are.”
“This workshop is very useful for people who work in states where cannabis use is legalized.”
“This workshop opened my eyes that more public health measures need to be taken to warn and educate people on these potent products.”
“Very eye-opening!”
“What a powerful story!! It was heartbreaking to hear and also very eye-opening.”
“While shocking, the broad way this information was shared turned from “only” being sensationalized into serious concerns about the reality of CIP. Very glad I chose this session.”
“Wish that these cases were more publicized. Spread awareness.”
“WOW!! This information needs to be shared everywhere. today’s parents are living with their heads in the sand.”
“SO interesting, did not know about this case at all! Just goes to show you never know how your brain/body will react with substances.”
“This was one of the best sessions that I have attended. It heightened my awareness of the need for more marijuana regulation, such as warning labels on ALL packaging of marijuana.”