Another California teen is suing popular cannabis company Stiiizy, alleging that underage use of the company’s products triggered a psychotic episode.
According to San Francisco TV station KRON, a high school student started using Stiiizy vaporizer products after “seeing cool advertisements on Snapchat.”
The latest lawsuit against Stiiizy, filed in late August in Los Angeles County Superior Court by attorneys representing the family of a Contra Costa County teen, follows a May action filed in Marin County.
A representative of Los Angeles-based Stiiizy did not immediately respond to an MJBizDaily request for comment.
The August lawsuit alleges negligence, fraud, failure to warn and design defects, according to KRON.
Each suit makes a similar allegation: A teen is lured by Stiiizy’s marketing campaign to use the company’s products in violation of California law limiting recreational cannabis to adults 21 and older, then suffers a psychotic episode blamed on the drug.
In the latest instance, a 16-year-old identified in court records as “KG” experienced a psychotic episode on April 20, 2022, after using Stiiizy products “multiple times per day,” KRON reported.
According to the suit, the teen stole his father’s truck and drove to San Francisco International Airport, where he “posed as a famous rapper” and tried to board a plane.
After the teen was located by police and his family notified, he eventually was committed to a psychiatric ward after his “delusions continued for days,” according to KRON.
He had a second psychotic break in December 2023, requiring intervention from friends and family, the lawsuit alleges.
In a statement to KRON, attorney Sarah London claimed that Stiiizy presents “its products as solutions for stress and anxiety without adequately warning of the risks,” thus leaving users “unaware of the potential mental health crises that can ensue.”
