Fortitude: Turning Tragedy into Action

A D1 baseball scholarship. A happy, close family. A teenager with a future that looked set. Then marijuana shows up in college, and what seemed “not that serious” quickly becomes the start of a long, brutal spiral: lost academics, lost baseball, escalating substance use, arrests, homelessness, and years of grief for the whole family. I’m joined by Nancy, a Michigan mom who shares her son’s story w...

A straight-A kid with a huge friend group doesn’t fit most people’s picture of a cannabis crisis, which is exactly why Steve’s story will stop you in your tracks.  Steve from New Jersey joins me to talk about his son, Nick, and how a backpack find, and what first looked like sudden college anxiety unfolded into cannabis-induced psychosis and, tragically, a suicide that could have been prevented. N...

Four years ago, Parent Action Network (PAN) starts with a simple realization: facts matter, but stories change minds. Crissy sits down with SAM CEO, Dr. Kevin Sabet, to unpack why organizing parents becomes the missing force in the marijuana legalization debate and why the human toll keeps showing up in our inbox every week. We talk about the loneliness of prevention work, the attacks advocates fa...

A tragedy can arrive quietly, then all at once. We talk with Texas mom Laura Broom about her son Gregori, a good kid with a bright path who became withdrawn during a major life transition and then encountered today’s marijuana landscape, where high potency THC and easy access can collide with depression, isolation, and pain. What stays with us is how short the timeline can be and how many details...

A teen tries THC at 14. Many years later, his mom is sitting in court watching her once bright, funny kid , full of promise, cycle through paranoia, delusions, lost jobs, and a system that's failed him because it can’t agree on what’s causing it. That’s the reality Patrice H. from Montana brings to Fortitude, and it’s a hard listen in the best way: honest, specific, and focused on what parent...

A gentle, gifted student leaves home for college in Seattle, finds easy access to high‑potency marijuana and within months is wandering Seattle sleepless, homeless and delusional. A late-night ER visit unsurprisingly reveals what the ER doctors refer to as "The King's County Special"-ONLY high potency THC in the tox screen, leading this physician-mom to confront the truth she wasn’t...

The shiny packaging and storefronts made it look safe. Grace grew up in Colorado as legalization took hold, where dispensaries and medical cards normalized access for teens and reframed weed as a healthy, natural, risk-free choice. What followed wasn’t a mellow haze—it was an escalation to high potency THC concentrates, dependency, and a terrifying slide into cannabis-induced psychosis. Grace open...

The story starts where many do: a belief that cannabis is a natural, low-risk helper. Anne, a former budtender and longtime user, walks us through how that belief shattered inside a “medical” dispensary—mold on flower, out-of-state synthetics, and a relentless push toward high-THC concentrates that looked nothing like the mellow plant older generations remember. What begins as a dream job turns in...

Join Crissy and addiction counselor and host of the Reality Therapy Podcast, Ryan Rodgers, as they discuss marijuana addiction and today's high potency products. The first hit felt like relief-that’s the twist Ryan Rogers unpacks with raw honesty: marijuana didn’t crash his life overnight—it slowly replaced it. No brutal hangover, no flashing red lights. Just drifting grades, fading drive, a...

The battle against recreational marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania has reached a critical point as Senate Bill 120 advances through the legislature. This alarming proposal could fundamentally change Pennsylvania communities by introducing what many experts consider the most industry-friendly, public health-adverse cannabis legalization bill in America. Dan Bartkowiak, Chief Strategy Officer fo...

A steady marriage, a decorated service record, and a belief that cannabis could help—until the household began to fracture under the weight of rage, paranoia, and sleepless nights. We sit down with an anonymous wife from Hawaii who once backed legalization and even held a medical card herself. Her perspective shifted as dispensary “choice” replaced dosing guidance, and her husband’s PTSD collided...

A quiet family routine shattered the night their son came home after landing his first job and started saying things that made no sense. By dinner, the question was terrifyingly simple: aneurysm or psychosis? What followed wasn’t a single event but a cascade—another son in crisis two months later, more than two dozen hospitalizations, and years of residential care across multiple states. Through t...

The quiet devastation of cannabis-induced psychosis remains one of the most misunderstood public health crises of our time. Once a normal family with three sons, Pennsylvania mom, Jen's world changed when her oldest began using marijuana in eighth grade. While she viewed it as typical teenage experimentation, even ultimately helping him obtain a medical marijuana card, what followed was a par...

What happens when marijuana addiction tears through a family's peaceful existence? Monica's powerful testimony reveals the devastating journey her family has endured since her son first encountered marijuana in high school. Before marijuana entered their lives, Monica's son was thriving—an athletic hockey player with excellent grades and ambitious dreams of becoming a mechanical eng...

Sally Schindel's world shattered when her son Andy died by suicide in 2014, leaving behind a note with haunting words: "Marijuana killed my soul plus ruined my brain." This episode reveals the devastating journey of a mother who transformed unbearable grief into powerful advocacy. Andy was no ordinary young man – a motivated veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division who saved diligently...

The dangers of today's high-potency marijuana remain largely hidden from public awareness despite mounting evidence of its devastating mental health impacts. Illinois mom, Winnie's world shattered when her teenage son developed cannabis-induced psychosis and a diagnosis of schizophrenia  after using high-potency THC vape products—a nightmare she never saw coming. Winnie shares her family...

The innocent-looking marijuana products lining dispensary shelves today bear little resemblance to the cannabis of previous generations. For Colorado single-mom, Heidi Lawrence, this stark reality became painfully clear when her 13-year-old daughter Ella began using concentrated "dabs" containing up to 95% THC. Before marijuana entered their lives, Ella was thriving—a straight-A student...

A mother's devastating account of how medical marijuana derailed her daughter's promising future unfolds in this gripping episode of the Fortitude Podcast. Jen from Florida shares the heartbreaking transformation of her academically successful daughter who, after receiving a medical marijuana card -at the recommendation of her neurologist- to treat for normal college anxiety, spiraled in...

Turning pain into purpose is the essence of Kristen Gilliland's journey. As both a research scientist and a mother who lost her son, Anders to an accidental overdose, she brings an unprecedented depth of understanding to the conversation about marijuana and adolescent brain health. Kristen shares how her background as a chemistry professor didn't prepare her for the reality of today&apos...

What happens when the "just weed" narrative collides with modern high-potency THC products and a developing teenage brain? Mary's story rips away the comfortable illusions about today's marijuana, revealing the catastrophic aftermath her family continues to navigate. Mary describes the vibrant life they enjoyed before cannabis entered their world—Halloween costume contests, clo...

What happens when marijuana—a substance many consider harmless—shatters a family's foundation? Christine's story takes us into the heart of this reality when her high-achieving eldest son developed cannabis-induced psychosis after using legally available THC products. The devastation arrived suddenly in March 2023 when a roommate's concerned message led to the discovery that her son...

"From Colorado Crisis to Advocacy: How THC Almost Destroyed A Family and How One Tough Mom is Fighting Back  When high-potency marijuana legalization swept into Pueblo, Colorado in 2014, physical therapist Aubree Adams never imagined her family would become ground zero for the devastating consequences. In this raw, emotional conversation, Aubrey reveals how "dabs" – concentrated THC...

When Marti Roveda woke to the unmistakable smell of marijuana permeating her home, she never imagined this moment would transform her life's purpose. Her 16-year-old son's addiction to high-potency THC products catapulted her into an unfamiliar world of treatment programs, relapses, and eventually, the agonizing decision to present him with an ultimatum: accept long-term treatment or lea...

Have you ever wondered what happens when marijuana legalization directly impacts your family? Meet Laura Stack, a Colorado mother who transformed her son's tragic suicide into a powerful movement for change and youth protection. Laura Stack, founder of Johnny's Ambassadors, joins the Fortitude Podcast to share her heartbreaking yet inspiring journey after losing her 19-year-old son Johnn...

When Linda Wolf realized her son Kobe was experiencing psychosis, walking the streets and claiming to control volcanoes, she faced a nightmare no parent is prepared for. What she couldn't understand was why nobody had warned her this could happen from "just weed." Linda and Kobe join the Fortitude podcast to share their remarkable journey through cannabis-induced psychosis, multiple...