I’ve spent the last several years writing novels, a solitary process, at times desperately so. A work of nonfiction is far different. In writing this book I asked many people for help, and most were generous with their time and knowledge. They included everyone from people with schizophrenia to scientists on four continents. I didn’t have space to quote them all in this book, but they were all helpful.
Psychiatrists, researchers, and scientists who shared their knowledge—in person, over the phone, or via email—included:
Seth Ammerman, Sven Andréasson, Louise Arseneault, Jacob Ballon, Sagnik Bhattacharyya, Mary Cannon, Marta Di Forti, Cyril D’Souza, Amir Englund, Seena Fazel, Tom Freeman, Wayne Hall, Julie Gazmararian, Robert Heinssen, Kevin Heslin, Shelaigh Hodgins, John Huffman, James Kirkbride, Emily Kline, Matthew Large, Bernard Le Foll, Valentina Lorenzetti, Michael Lynskey, Erik Messamore, Nathaniel Morris, Valerie Moulin, Robin Murray, Olav Nielssen, Mark Olfson, Elyse Phillips, Aneta Lotakov Prince, Genie Roosevelt, Russell Russo, Melanie Rylander, Phil Silva, Scott Simpson, Christian Thurstone, Jim van Os, Nora Volkow, Cathy Wasserman, and George Wang. If anyone has slipped my mind, I apologize.
Any and all errors are mine and mine alone. Sometimes that sentence is boilerplate, but in this case, it couldn’t be truer. The science around psychosis is complicated. I have done my best to explain accurately what the experts say, but the mistakes belong to me.
I drew on histories and memoirs from Patrick Anderson, Bruce Barcott, Isaac Campos, Emily Dufton, John Hudak, Michael Massing, Martin Torgoff—and of course George Francis William Ewens. I do wonder what Ewens would make of the modern American marijuana industry, with its budtenders and delivery apps. Marijuana: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Jonathan P. Caulkins, Beau Kilmer, and Mark A. R. Kleiman, offered a balanced look at the pros and cons of legalization (though it understates the violence risk). The Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Medicine reports from 1999 and 2017 were comprehensive, thoughtful—and showed how scientific knowledge of the risks of marijuana has risen even as popular and political views have swung the other way.
Ethan Nadelmann, Marcia Rosenbaum, and Rob Kampia were generous with their time. So was Marcus Bachhuber, the author of the 2014 JAMA Internal Medicine paper.
In Colorado, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office provided the investigative file on the Kevin Lyons case at no cost and made district attorney George Brauchler, Darcy Kofol, and other senior attorneys available for an interview. Medical examiners’ offices in several counties provided autopsy reports, usually at no charge.
Richard Kirk offered me his version of his life and the night of April 14, 2014; his in-laws Marti and Wayne Kohnke spoke candidly about an extraordinarily painful event. So did Kirk’s friend Patrick Milligan. David Rosen, Kirk’s lawyer, helped put me in touch with him, and Tina Fraker and others at the Bent County Correctional Facility courteously arranged my visit.
Danielle Caho fearlessly recounted how her boyfriend Christopher Pepper and his mother Barbara were shot in Colorado Springs by Elijah Tyre Colon in May 2017 as she was in another room. (Days before she was murdered, Barb had asked Danielle and her son not to smoke marijuana with Colon. She said she didn’t like the way the drug made Colon act. But I couldn’t be certain Colon had used on the evening he killed the Peppers, so I did not include the murder in the main body of the book. Colon pled guilty in 2018 and is now serving a seventy-year sentence.) Michael Allen, who prosecuted Colon, also took time to talk about the case with me.
Susan Riehl told me about her son Matthew, and Sheridan Orr about her brother Kevin. Eric and his family gave me a glimpse inside their lives.
Any number of people with psychosis told me about their own struggles, but aside from David Louis Bragen, who is named in the book, I’m protecting their privacy.
Almost sixteen years ago, Jon Karp published my first nonfiction book. Jon, thanks for taking a chance on me again, on an even more controversial topic. Mitchell Ivers told me to follow the facts, wherever they led. Natasha Simons and Hannah Brown saw the manuscript over the finish line. Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell offered advice and counsel.
Peter Bach, my brother David, and Andrew Ross Sorkin all read a first draft and made thoughtful comments.
A special thanks to Sanford Gordon, who took time out from his own work to do mine. I owe you, Sandy.
And, finally—this book would not have been possible without my wife, Dr. Jacqueline Berenson. And I don’t mean that in the usual pro forma “This wouldn’t haven’t been possible without my spouse” way. Jackie’s work as a forensic psychiatrist gives her a unique perspective on the violence that marijuana causes. Her understanding of the issue led me down the path to this book.
I hope I’ve done it—and her—justice.