Tag Archives: Johnny’s Ambassadors

Reviews, Testimonies

New book provides platform to warn other parents

We’re sick and tired of being ridiculed, ostracized and shamed by those who deny the way marijuana can ruin lives!  At last, the parents have a platform in print! When your child has a drug problem — and that drug is marijuana — they may not know it. But there is no limit to the entire family’s suffering. 

For Laura Stack, the outcome was the worst, the death of her son Johnny. Laura told that story in her book, The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana.  She also gave valuable insights into the science behind the harms of cannabis. 

Johnny’s Ambassador Publishing recently released its second book, The Impact of THC on Our Children: A Parent’s Worst Nightmare. In the new book, twenty-four other parents or families tell their story of the THC nightmare. Amazon.com sells the book in paperback, hardcover, Kindle and audible formats. The stories reveal the dangers of THC use and addiction on teens and young adults. The outcomes include severe mental illness, psychosis and suicide. Continue reading New book provides platform to warn other parents →

Testimonies

Webinar to educate on the One-Year Anniversary of Johnny’s Death

On Friday, November 20, Laura Stack presented the story of Johnny Stack, via webinar, on the first anniversary of his death.  Her presentation, A Mother’s Story of Her Son’s Death – How High-THC Marijuana Took My Son, and How to Keep it from Happening to You, was powerful and moving!

Johnny was thirteen, almost fourteen, when Colorado legalized marijuana.  He, like many other adolescents, thought the state’s normalization and promotion of this drug meant it was safe.

Unfortunately, Johnny took to “dabbing,” using the most potent form of marijuana.  He experienced psychosis, mental health issue and ultimately took his life, despite being a brilliant student.  His mother, Laura, and other family members started, Johnny’s Ambassadors.

Laura explains dabbing with great clarity, finding it amazing how much parents do not know.   We warned about dabbing six years ago, but the country hasn’t learned yet.

We’ve been sounding the alarm for almost six years, and it’s unfortunate that too many casualties occurred in the meantime. Laura’s testimony was published here.

Politics

Response to New York Times Article

A New York Times article by Jonah Engel Bromwich last weekend reveled in 21st century American escapism, the notion that we can magically will away the vicissitudes of life by using drugs.

A few days later, the New York Times did it again, suggesting people simply can’t live without a crutch. The election’s over but not the stress. Any edibles left?  Drug enthusiasts in the media hype anxiety, as if all of us must be neurotics.  It’s not only COVID anxiety they’re pushing. The pot industry and its proponents want local politicians to see marijuana as the solution to lost revenue revenue from restaurant closings, no matter what the medical costs. The clever public relations approach covers many bases, creating a mystique, but forgets to mention that the tax revenues from marijuana fall far below expectations.

Kevin Sabet of SAM is not alone in fighting against marijuana legalization.  Other opponents to marijuana legalization have not left the scene, something Style section author Bromwich gets wrong.  Parents Opposed to Pot, as well as Americans Against Legalizing Marijuana and MomsStrong in California, make up a strong bipartisan opposition.  Bromwich interviewed author Emily Dufton, who told another journalist that it’s possible a new parent movement will arise. Dufton was correct — Parent Movement 2.0 began this year in California.  Johnny’s Ambassadors, a new group formed by Laura Stack and her family  in Colorado, sounds the alarm about “dabbing,” and the tragic loss of her son, a victim of marijuana-induced psychosis. 

While apparently in awe of the ballots passed by numerous states, the author deliberately avoids the fact that vast infusions of money bought those ballot votes.  Billionaires fund New Approach PAC, which, in turn, gives the money for marijuana ballot campaigns.  Just since the election, Alexandra Cohen, wife of a New York hedge fund manager, gave $750,000 to New Approach PAC.  Money and clever messaging buy the votes for this anti-science drug policy. Rather than grassroots efforts, it’s the clearest example in politics today that money can buy an outcome. 

Stakes are high as we lose kids to drug addiction

The new generation of opposition thinks differently from “Just Say No” or the DARE approach of the nineties.  We believe children or teens deserve an explanation why it’s preferable not to use or need drugs to get through life.  We emphasize that there are healthy ways to embrace life, and find joy, without anxiety or the need for drugs. Continue reading Response to New York Times Article →

Testimonies

Johnny’s Story

By Laura Stack, Founder, Johnny’s Ambassadors

Johnny Stack was born on February 7, 2000 and died by suicide on November 20, 2019 at the age of 19. He was an incredibly intelligent, funny, charming, handsome young man, which you can see in his tribute video. We are a normal suburban family and did normal family things. He had a happy life, a 4.0 GPA with a scholarship to college, and a family who loved him very much. Unfortunately, we live in Colorado, which was the first state to legalize marijuana in 2014, when Johnny was 14 years old.

Three days before he passed, he came over for dinner. He lived in our condo a couple miles down the street and would often pop in for a home-cooked meal. “I need to tell you that you were right,” he says me. “Right about what?” I ask. “Right about the marijuana. You told me weed would hurt my brain, and it’s ruined my mind and my life. You were right all along. I’m sorry, and I love you.” He died by suicide three days later. Continue reading Johnny’s Story →