Lost My Husband to Suicide After Medical Marijuana

This is my story, relaying for my husband who died by suicide after getting prescribed medical marijuana. He was also on Lexapro, gabapentin, Ozempic, and other medications. But once he got medical marijuana, not from his primary care but from a special clinic that specialises in medical marijuana prescriptions after a new law passed allowing it, everything changed.

He got it for his “back pain,” which would normally only flare up for maybe five to seven days once or twice a year. But his prescription was written for daily use. And somehow he needed it for his “back” every day after that. He used it nightly. His personality changed. His alcohol use went sky high. He could be nonsensical. And mean. He’d pass out at night, no longer kept normal hours, no longer was a normal responsible adult.

I begged him to stop. He kept saying it wasn’t a problem. In March he finally agreed with me that it was, indeed, a problem. He gave me a packet of his medication and asked me to throw it out. I did. I was so relieved he finally saw what it was doing to him. But two days later the story changed. It was the percentage, you see, that was too high, so instead of 90+% THC he got something lower. I was devastated. The behaviour came back, along with the high alcohol use. And the other prescriptions continued and no doctor flagging the potential interactions.

I was discussing what to do with our adult daughter, including calling both doctor’s offices without his knowledge, knowing he’d be angry, and demanding a rescinding of the medical marijuana prescription, when I lost him to suicide in August.

I found his body. A gunshot wound through his head. I called 911 and my first words to the responding officers were, “This is medical marijuana!”

I was wrecked. I’m still wrecked. Without it I’m positive he’d still be here.

So maybe this isn’t the story of symptoms you envisioned when you made this site, but I feel it’s important. I can’t be the only person who has had their life devastated by the new medical marijuana laws and the lack of oversight on medication and alcohol interactions. I’d hoped someone else would read this and would be brave enough to intervene early enough so they don’t lose their spouse like I did.

I have so many regrets for not risking his anger and ringing the alarm bells earlier. Please call the doctors. Call the cops. Make the noise. Take the risk of making them upset. The alternative could be a life that’ll never be the same again for either of you.

I miss him every single day. He was a wonderful husband and partner until that medical marijuana prescription. It changed him, and us, and I believe firmly that it’s responsible for his death.