My son, Sam, died April 3, 2021, after a 12-minute altercation with Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies during a cannabis-induced psychotic episode. 

If the term “cannabis-induced psychotic episode” is new or surprising to you, please read on. Someone you love’s life may depend on it. 

Sam was 23 and one semester away from graduating from the University of Colorado-Boulder. In high school, Sam was a high-achieving athlete and student. He graduated with honors, earning several academic scholarships.  

Sam had friends and was happiest spending time with his sisters and his beloved dogs. Sam was a sensitive kid. He tended to take things pretty literally and was honest to a fault.  

When weed became legal in Colorado in 2012, access became very easy. He was 15,  starting high school. For the most part, he managed his life well, as evidenced by his good grades and participation in sports, but we now think he used THC products more than we realized. 

By the time he joined his college fraternity in his sophomore year, we noticed significant changes in his personality. He became angry and oppositional. His relationships began to suffer, his obsession with conspiracy theories intensified, and his paranoia caused him to buy guns. 

He became someone we didn’t recognize, even describing how he saw lights in the sky that sent him messages. I now wonder if he was hearing voices or having hallucinations that he hid from us. How frightening and isolating that must have been.  

Of course, this hurts to think about as his mom. I wish he could have talked with me so I could have supported him and helped him not feel so alone. 

On the day he died, he went hiking with a new friend he met in class. If they had time, they planned to go to a shooting range afterward.  

What his friend didn’t know was that Sam quit using pot four days before, so he was in withdrawal. Yes, research shows THC can be physically and psychologically addictive. Additionally, introducing THC to a brain in marijuana withdrawal can trigger cannabis-induced psychosis.  

While on the hike, his new friend offered Sam a joint. It triggered an immediate psychotic episode.  Sam ran back to the parking lot, claiming that people were after them.  

An argument ensued, and his friend made Sam get out of his car on the side of I-25. Sam took his rifle with him.  

His friend then called 911, saying they had smoked a joint, he believed Sam was hallucinating, and that Sam had a weapon. Sam had no idea his friend had called 911, so when the police showed up, it was his worst nightmare coming true, confirming his delusional thinking.  

He fired shots in the direction of the police and gave them no choice but to shoot and kill him. 

I struggle daily with thoughts that somehow I failed him as a mother. Anniversaries, holidays, and birthdays are forever tainted by an underlying sadness that I push against for the sake of my partner and my two daughters. It’s true that time heals wounds, but this hole in my heart is forever. 

When cannabis triggers mental illness, and studies show it can, people often lose the ability to recognize who they’ve become. Delusions replace reality. And most of the time, family members don’t know what to do or what to say.  

Out of fear, confusion or disbelief, silence sets in, and that silence often delays help. The hardest truth? If Sam could have seen his future before the collapse, he would have never touched marijuana at all. Sam’s final entry in his journal reads, “What would I be like if I hadn’t smoked in 8th [grade].” 

Today, I work as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Colorado-based nonprofit One Chance to Grow Up, whose mission is to protect the health and safety of kids from the unintended harms of marijuana/THC. 

One Chance to Grow Up and the Pikes Peak Region 16 Opioid Abatement Council are investing in a public education campaign focused on THC science. You can see billboards and digital ads aimed at parents and trusted adults throughout El Paso and Teller Counties. The campaign points to our site HighRiskTHC.org, which offers science and education on the topic. 

I frequently speak to parents and trusted adults, educating them on the risks associated with high-potency THC products, and I share Sam’s story as a powerful cautionary reminder. No mother should ever have to endure what I have. Prevention is not optional—it is a profound responsibility we all share.  

Whitney Yeager lives in El Paso County.