CMC human services department to host presentations on youth high-potency marijuana use and mental health Nov. 3-5

Colorado Mountain College’s human services department will host three community presentations on youth high-THC marijuana use and mental health. The programs will be held at  CMC Breckenridge on Nov. 3 and Morgridge Commons in Glenwood Springs on Nov. 4 with Laura Stack, and at CMC Steamboat Springs on Nov. 5 with Grace Davis. All programs begin at 5:30 p.m.

The evenings will be framed by the tragic death of  Stack’s son, Johnny, a Colorado teenager who, according to his mother, began using high-THC marijuana concentrates at age 14 and was eventually using them daily. His death in 2019, at age 19, was ruled a suicide. Stack says that a high-potency marijuana-induced psychosis caused him to end his life. 

Following her son’s death, Stack, an internationally recognized authority on corporate and personal productivity, founded Johnny’s Ambassadors, a nonprofit that raises awareness about the risks of youth marijuana use. She now serves as lead spokesperson and educates teens, parents and communities through her speaking, writing and public outreach.

Stack will give the presentations in Breckenridge and Morgridge; Grace Davis, a close friend of Johnny Stack, will speak in Steamboat Springs.

During the programs, “The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana,” Stack and Davis will share their personal experiences along with research on the effects of high-THC marijuana on youth brain development and the connection between adolescent marijuana use and mental illness.

The presentations are free and open to the public for ages 18 and older. Spanish interpretation will be available at all locations and ASL interpretation will be provided at Morgridge Commons in Glenwood Springs. Professionals in addiction and helping fields can earn free continuing education credit.

These programs are supported by Opportunity Now, a grant program of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade. The Breckenridge presentation is at the Finkel Auditorium, CMC Breckenridge, 107 Denison Placer Road. Morgridge Commons Meeting & Conference Center is at 815 Cooper Ave., second floor, downtown Glenwood Springs, and the Steamboat Springs presentation is at the Allbright Family Auditorium, 1275 Crawford Ave., third floor.

For more information, visit  Johnny's Ambassadors  or contact Lianne Pyle at Colorado Mountain College.