117. Cannabis-Induced Psychosis: A Mother’s Story of Love and Loss - Tara Couture of Slowdown Farmstead

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Apr 9, 2025

Tara Couture, owner of Slowdown Farmstead and mom to three daughters, shares her heart-wrenching journey following the loss of her daughter, Mila, to cannabis-induced psychosis. They discuss the devastating effects of high-potency THC on young minds, revealing critical insights into mental health risks. Tara reflects on the interconnectedness of life and death, the importance of awareness around cannabis, and the beauty that can emerge from grief. Her poignant storytelling invites listeners to cherish the fragility of life and the impact of choices.

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ANECDOTE

Finding Peace in Death

Tara found peace with death through animal harvesting with her mentor, Richard.
This experience shifted her perspective and led her to embrace the interconnectedness of life and death.

ANECDOTE

Richard's Death and Legacy

Tara describes Richard's death and the beautiful ceremonies surrounding it, emphasizing the community's love and his profound impact.
She recounts the experience of sensing his presence before and absence after his body was moved, highlighting the spiritual aspect of death.

ANECDOTE

Journey to Veganism and Health Struggles

Tara's daughter's potential OTC diagnosis and vaccine reaction led Tara to explore alternative medicine and ultimately veganism.
She describes her experience with restrictive diets and their negative impact on her health.

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In 2021 Tara and her family got the knock on their door that every parent fears most. In the days that followed they discovered eighteen-year-old Mila’s journal and were able to piece together the shocking and devastating chain of events that led to her death.

Tara’s Instagram and Substack, Slowdown Farmstead, is followed and admired by tens of thousands of people. Tara and her husband raised their three daughters on their beautiful Canadian farm, lovingly tending to and butchering their own livestock in order to nourish their family and community. Deeply acquainted with the cycles of nature, Tara has a perspective on the interconnectedness of life and death that was the daily reality for our ancestors but eludes most modern people.

But that did not prepare her for what could happen when a drug that is now bred to be as strong as any pharmaceutical- and which is often misunderstood as being a benign herbal medicine- snuck its way into her daughter’s life at a vulnerable time and completely rewired her brain in a matter of months.

It is our hope that sharing Mila’s story will make more people aware of the increasingly common psychosis that is a side effect of the new high-THC strains of cannabis on the market, and especially of its dangers for the developing teenage brain.

Please read the articles linked below for more.

Tara's essay What Happened To Our Daughter- don't miss the dozens of resources about the risks of cannabis at the end

How Weed Became the New OxyContin: Big Pharma and Big Tobacco Are Helping Market High-Potency, Psychosis-Inducing THC Products as Your Mother’s ‘Medical Marijuana’

Patreon bonus conversation- What We Want Our Daughter To Know: women, restriction, chronic illness & more on Tara’s metabolic journey

Learn more about Tara’s book Radiance of the Ordinary

Slowdown Farmstead on Substack and Instagram

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome

Take our fun quiz Which Healing Herb Matches Your Energy?

My website MythicMedicine.love

Mythic Medicine on Instagram

Medicine Stories Facebook group

Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)