Posted on May 7, 2024 View all news
Before using Delta-8, my son was athletic and excelled in academics. He attended a private school except for 4th – 8th grade, during which time he attended public school but was in honor classes in middle and high school. He started college in 2017/2018, pursuing a degree in marketing at UNCC, and began smoking Delta-8 that same year.
In 2019, he dropped out of college, worked part-time, and began focusing all his energy and time on building a News App and drawing/painting. He also started a non-profit to sell his artwork and buy school supplies for underprivileged children.
We started noticing that he was isolating and avoiding friends and family, and his hygiene was declining. He wasn’t able to keep a job and moved home in 2020. He started showing signs of depression and anxiety and, in 2021, began showing signs of mania; he got very little sleep, was extraordinarily energetic, and was grandiose about his artwork and abilities. He was self-destructive, showing signs of aggression and irritated being around people, including us.
As he continued to smoke Delta-8, his delusional behavior increased, comparing himself and his talents to celebrities. He was unable to make eye contact with us and was withdrawn. He started stealing art supplies, vandalizing abandoned buildings, and hanging his artwork in bars. He did not leave his name on his artwork because he wanted to be an ominous artist but was somehow convinced he would reach stardom.
He went into psychosis in 2022, twice in May and then in June, after using Delta-8. He was IVC’d (involuntarily committed) to a hospital twice after attacking his father and then me, his mother. He called us by our first and last name, saying he could not call us Mom and Dad. He stripped naked while in the hospital and at home, saying he had to be at peace. He was hospitalized for two months.
He was still having less severe psychotic episodes into the fall and then slipped into a deep depression through the Spring of 2023.
He’s been sober since 6/2022 but is still not comfortable around people and struggles to make eye contact with anyone. He isn’t able to work and spends 7-8 hrs a day on his artwork. He still struggles with grooming and hygiene, caring for himself, and managing his finances. He is able to drive again and will go to the gym each day. He makes his own meals, except dinner. He is on SSDI and Medicare. We are his caregivers and manage his day-to-day routine.
I want Delta-8 banned to prevent other families from the nightmare we’ve endured. It took away our son, his opportunities, plans, and future. We aren’t sure if he will have a job or a family of his own. Please don’t allow this drug to be marketed and sold.
Niece S.
