Posted on January 1, 2022 View all news
On December 23, 2021, my son, Josh took his own life by jumping in front of a train in Pecos, Tx. After dabbing marijuana the full month of December, he decided to pack his suitcase, call an Uber and leave. Later that evening he took a selfie of himself at the airport and posted it to Twitter. We knew where he was headed…Los Angeles. Each time he’s in psychosis, his voices tell him to go to LA. This time he said, “God sent him there [LA] to save the people”.
The first night in LA he stayed at a Hostel. The second day he had no money. I was so angry at him. I thought this would be a good time to hit his rock bottom, by not sending him money. That idea didn’t last long. After praying for his safety, I knew I had to bring him home quickly. Tough love doesn’t work for someone in psychosis. We live in Houston, so if he lost his phone or something happen to him it would be impossible to find him in LA.
He went from grandiose delusions, sounding arrogant to later sounding confused why “God sent him there”. The God he referred to was not Jesus. When he was in psychosis he denies Jesus, and speaks of Greek, Egyptian, or Mayan Gods… Demons. We finally got him on a bus two days later.
I stayed in contact with him, telling him I loved him and just wanted him home safe. He got off the bus in Pecos, Tx, and had a plan to jump in front of a bus. He dropped his phone and it shattered. He called me from an unknown number, which belonged to be a pediatrician/cardiologist who was on his day off from a refugee camp in Pecos. This amazing doctor called an ambulance to put Josh on a mental health hold after observing and talking with him. Josh told the pediatrician he wanted to jump in front of a train. Paramedics and police show up… Josh showed no confusion and answered every question correctly according to them. He managed to fool 2 officers and a paramedic. So they let him go. Shortly after, he followed through with his Plan. We are still waiting on the investigation, autopsy, and police report.
By, Sonia Jimenez of Houston Texas
Editors note
To Sonia Jimenez, Joshua’s mother…
“Sonia, you did everything right. You loved, supported, and set loving boundaries for your son. You tried to get him hospitalized and that’s all you could have done.
Josh’s psychosis deceived the first responders. Our society’s lack of understanding, resources, and tools provide pathways for our kids to continue self-destructive behaviors. Our country needs to start speaking the truth and working with us, not against us. They’ve taken away protective factors and allowed the drug predators to set up shop in our neighborhoods.
When Josh tweeted that he was going to harm himself, that should have been the only evidence they needed to get him help. You told them he needed help repeatedly and they denied it. When they kept denying medical help for Josh you turned to God and accepted that you were powerless over the actions of the first responders and Josh’s hijacker, THC in his brain. You treated the officers and paramedics with love and understanding too. You knew they were doing their best to assess the situation too. People do not understand the strength of a mother like you. You did absolutely nothing wrong.
The hijacker that took over Josh’s brain (THC) is practically impossible to negotiate with. Only actionable boundaries can improve an outcome when it comes to psychosis and addiction, but the boundaries never can guarantee the outcomes. I came to understand a long time ago that I was no longer negotiating or talking with my son, I was talking with the hijacker/disease that stole my son.
Your boundaries were an act of love that showed your son that you are not going to participate in his destructive behaviors. It’s the lack of boundaries in our society, ‘lack of education, the incompetence of our government, and drug predators that failed Josh.
I and many other people will not allow Josh all the other people who have suffered to die in vain.
I am deeply sorry for your loss.”
Aubree Adams, Director of Every Brain Matters
Please share this testimony to help us raise awareness about CIP.
To learn more about cannabis-induced psychosis click this link:
My son also killed himself on 8/13/22. Within a week before he completely changed. We found vaping product partly used that included THC 0, Delta 8 and Delta 10. I completely believe this product caused Psychosis in my son which caused him to kill himself.
Dear Sonia, I’m sooo sorry for the loss of your beautiful boy💔 All 3 of my daughters went through CIP-each time was worse than the sister before…my last adult daughter is 28, she went through it with mania for 8 very long months..and just like all of the CIP individuals, was able to fool everyone, doctors, nurses, law enforcement etc. She is home, safe, and out of the psychosis state, we’re beyond Thankful to God for bringing her home to us..We have a road ahead of us, she’s very depressed and anxiety ridden due to the destruction she caused over that time period, she also wishes she wasn’t here😭 My Prayer is that one day soon she will realize just how fortunate she is to have made it out alive🙏🏻🙏🏻 My heart hurts for you and all the other parents whose babies can’t come home anymore and my continued Prayers for all is that God Took Your Babies home with him where they’re now safe and away from the enemy🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Thank You for sharing your beautiful boys story and May God Be With You and Yours Always🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻
I am deeply sorry for your loss. such an unfortunate loss, Much more research and further investigation and this topic are extremely necessary with a claim that the cannabis itself was the cause of his death. Was he already suffering from some sort of mental disorder? even something as simple as depression? I have so many questions about this topic of “CIP”. Its causing a stir in the cannabis industry with these claims need to be backed up by some sort of research. They don’t give out warning fliers out when you buy a bottle of 99 bananas but now, because of storys like this the industry is forced to now hand out fliers. Just really makes me wonder about this world like are we really analyzing everything rationally. Cannabis is medicine for many people and for most they absolutely could not do without it and when used properly is extremely safe and actuaclly beneficial for the body; but just like prescription drugs and even alcohol are bad for you if abused. I hope we can all look forward and not be so close minded to facts rather then speculation. education is key. God bless.
Sonia I am so sorry for your loss. I know you have had other losses and I am truly sorry
I will pray for you, Sonia, and I hope you find comfort and peace in our Lord.
Thank you for sharing this story. I’m so sorry for the loss of your son. I went through my first episode of psychosis. It scared me so much. Your story will help others as they struggle with this. Thank you for sharing. God bless you!🙏
Thank you Heidi.
Dear Sonia,
Thank you for sharing your dear son’s story. What a heartwrenching journey for your whole family. What a beautiful son. Such a terrible loss.
It must not have been easy describing what his last days were like but it’s important for others because most people don’t understand what psychosis is. Your descriptions vividly describe what its like. Hopefully your words can help others to recognize the signs.
Bless you. So sorry for your loss.