Finding A Higher Love: Heather Shares Her Son’s Story

A Higher Love, by Heather Bacchus, is the latest of a number of books by parents who write the story of losing a child because of cannabis.  Despite her intense grief and the unexpected loss of her son, Randy Michael Bacchus III, Heather provides a model for finding hope and love as she shares the story of her loss. The book’s subtitle is  “A Journey through Addiction, Cannabis-Induced Psychosis, Suicide and Redemption.”

Randy was born in November of 1999 and died in July of 2021.  He started using marijuana at age 15. As Heather recounts her story, the reader is tempted to look for clues.  What were the reasons to worry?  Although the parents, Randy and Heather, discovered their son’s pot use and did not shrug it off, they didn’t know how dangerously different today’s marijuana is.  Nor did they understand all the new forms of high-potency marijuana, including dabs and vapes.

Be Extraordinary – Be You

Heather and her husband, Randy, transform their grief into a mission to save lives by educating on the misperceptions about cannabis, Through their nonprofit — Be Extraordinary, Be You.– they speak to groups and high school assemblies, telling their story.

From the start, son Randy was extraordinary in many ways — clever, resourceful and entrepreneurial.  He never wanted to be an ordinary man.  Randy began using pot to “fit in,” as so many other teens do. Yet all  our children are unique and display unique gifts, which is why no two stories will be alike.  Nor will the journeys of the parents be the same, other than the fact their child’s pot use causes extreme disruptions in their lives.

The Bacchuses experienced numerous dramas and episodes which wreaked havoc on their lives.  All the while, they were raising three other children.  They wrestled with hospitalizations, therapists and treatment centers, most of which were woefully inadequate. Much of Randy’s high school life was disrupted because of drug addiction (cannabis). Yet so many professionals did not see a problem in the cannabis use, not knowing that it can lead to anxiety, depression and psychosis.

Randy Michael’s Move to Colorado

Instead of going straight to college, Randy moved to Colorado to find work with the hopes of securing Colorado residency and going to college there. 

While in Colorado he was able to obtain a medical marijuana card.  (In 2022, the state legislature closed the loophole which gave out thousands of such cards to 18-21-year-olds, but it was too late for Randy and other victims such as Johnny Stack.)   Randy’s first experience with cannabis-induced psychosis took place when he was 19.  He tried to quit numerous times on his own, but ran away from the treatment center.  Like many addicts, he was extremely erratic. When he was finally committed to a mental health hold, there were no hospital beds available. (This common problem in Colorado and much of the US is inexcusable.)

Today, the term ‘mental health’ is flashed word all over the news, but mental health treatment is woefully inadequate. Legalizing marijuana throws a monkey’s wrench into that system. Many of the practitioners don’t understand the dangers of cannabis, at least they didn’t at the time the Bacchuses sought help. 

During his last two years, Heather was thinking her son had mental illness, because she did not know that his problems were primarily caused by the cannabis use. Her memoir intersperses the studies proving the causal links between cannabis, psychosis and suicide.

Randy Bacchus III, with his mother, Heather Bacchus

Heather’s Redemption

At the time of his death, Randy knew that cannabis had brought him to the place he was.  The things Heather and her husband discovered after his death, through the videos on his cell phone, took them to unexpected insights about cannabis-induced psychosis.

Heather’s journey is not just learning the science about cannabis, but it is also one of trust, faith, and growing in “a higher love.”   Several beautiful synchronicities emerge at the end of the book.

We recommend this book to any parents wondering about their child, teen’s or young adult’s marijuana use.   What are the signs to notice?   What are the things you miss?   At the end of the book, Heather giver her insights on how to approach and navigate today’s world in which many states are legalizing the drug.  Here we find the important advice she gives had she the education she has now!

Here’s a link to buy the book and find out more about Heather’s work.

The Bacchus’ non-profit, Be Extraordinary, Be You sends a message to students on the benefits of the weed-free life!  They work mainly in Minnesota, but will travel to other states if you request a speaking engagement.

Other books by parents and others we recommend:   

The Dangerous Truth about Today’s Marijuana, by Laura Stack

Gone to Suicide, by Ann Clark

Diary of a Broken Brain, by Anne Moss Rogers and also found here.

A Life Half Lived, by Darryl Rodgers

Whoa Dude, by Kevin Becker

Tell Your Children, by Alex Berenson

Marijuana Debunked, by Ed Gogek

The Impact of THC on our Children, compiled by Laura Stack