LOS ANGELES—Marijuana brand Stiiizy is being sued again over allegations users are suffering cannabis-induced psychosis (CIP), and this time the plaintiff is a young man who locked his mother in his parents’ bedroom and ostensibly introduced a girl to his parent while pointing to an empty space next to him.
Plaintiff John Doe’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include fraud, strict products liability, negligence, and breach of implied warranty. Doe seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. His suit brought Dec. 20 is similar to one filed against Stiizy eight days earlier by twin sisters.
CIP is an acute psychological event that can require years of treatment, including the use of anti-psychotic medication, according to the suit.
“Even an individual who recovers from CIP and is not diagnosed with chronic psychosis may incur lasting damage to their brain, increasing their risk of mental health issues for the rest of their life,” according to the complaint.
A representative for Los Angeles-based Stiizy did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit.
When Stiizy opened its Pomona dispensary in June 2021, appearances were made by rappers Xzibit and Too Short, according to the suit, which also states that Stiiizy collaborated with the four-day Rolling Loud California music festival with what was described as an effort to “blend the electrifying world of Hip Hop with Stiizy’s pioneering cannabis culture.”
Doe was an elite athlete at his high school, where vaping was common, the suit states.
“Plaintiff chose Stiizy vapes because they were sleek, the designs were cool and sophisticated, the product was easy to use discreetly and the flavors were appealing to him and popular among his teenage friends as well as in the Stiiizy marketing and promotion he saw,” according to the complaint.
Doe believed that use of the vapes would dull his sadness and help alleviate his anxiety and stress, the suit states.
In the middle of the night in March 2022, Doe was found shirtless and wet from jumping into a pool and he later told a police officer that a girl from school involved in witchcraft put a curse on him, the suit states. Ten months later, while standing outside his parents’ car, Doe asked them if he could bring a girl home and gestured to the empty space beside him to introduce them to her, the suit states.
The next day, Doe verbally confronted his parents, locked his mother in the couple’s bedroom and shouted that he “controlled” her, according to the suit, which further states the plaintiff continues having mental health problems and has had to get academic accommodations in order to succeed with his studies.
In the other suit filed against Stiizy earlier this month by the twin sisters, one sibling said her vaping led her to twice attempt suicide and the other contended her usage caused her to lose interest in school and drop out.
