Maybe if she knew a neighbor, she could have asked for help.

Maybe we were part of the problem.

Yes. Yes, we are.

Loneliness kills and insularity pulls the trigger.

Go out right now and learn the names of your neighbors. There is zero valid excuse not to. You don't have to be BFF's. But for fuck sake — KNOW THIER NAMES.

In my 49 years I've lived on three continents, four countries, and 9 US states. And Seattle is one of the most insular, provincial, snobby places I have ever lived.

People here are way worse than New Yorkers when it comes to ignoring other people in distress. A while back when a man who worked next door was hit by a car in front of our office nobody would help me comfort him or keep traffic back - 99% of the people just walked by like nothing was happening. I talked to him later and he said not one other neighbor stopped by to see if he was alright.

In Cal Anderson a couple years ago some dude was beating the shit out this woman and people just walked by - nobody would help me stop him and while I'm yelling at the guy trying to distract him, getting between them, nobody would call 911. I could go on and on.

Here is what changed my attitude: An old girlfriend's grandfather had a stroke on a bus in Tacoma. He started talking strangely and falling. So people thought he was drunk. Nobody helped him - the bus driver just kept yelling at him. Luckily an old neighbor of his who was a nurse got on the bus and realized something was wrong. But she had to scream bloddy murder at the bus driver to stop and she carried him off the bus herself. Saved this old guy's life.

My wife is a typically gregarious East Coaster and she won't have it. Which is a good thing. If it weren't for her refusal to put up fences and not mind her own business one of our neighbors would be dead now.

Get involved, man. Just be human and compassionate and get involved.

Thanks for this article. It touched so many important issues and wove them together eloquently. The conversations we're having in the comments is one I wish we were having all over, everyday.

As for help with Mental Health and the much needed Mental Health Services, we can thank the late President Reagan for cutting the funding. He kicked a lot of people out of mental hospitals, and didn't fund the community mental health programs that were supposed to keep them stable and out of the hospital.

Which brands of alcoholic beverages were cryptically left behind in her apartment?

Was the liquor store clerk who sold it to her questioned as to his knowledge of short-term alcohol use severely exacerbating psychosis, mental illness, and suicidal ideation?

Or how about coffee? Pharmaceuticals? Let's make sure we cover industries not protected by billions of lobbying dollars and federal backing.

'Medical Marijuana' takes just as much self-accountability as your Xanax and Adderal prescription, use as such.

What's not discussed in this story is the treatment Alyssa Rosado may have required for her condition, and the difficulty she may have had in receiving the necessary support and care. Even if she had health care coverage through Starbucks - and whether she had it or not would depend on how much she worked - she may well have discovered that her coverage wasn't nearly adequate for her needs. Finding good treatment in the area of behavioral health is always a challenge. Receiving enough of it through an insurer, especially where higher levels of care are required, is often a roadblock.

There are many Alyssa Rosado's in this country.

Mmjrevu actually lists psychosis as a symptom that some strains (albeit few) can help with- http://mmjrevu.com/conditions/13-psychos…

@seattler0cks Great point, and also perhaps a more appropriate direction to point the finger.

@86 Medical Cannabis and the legalized recreational use for Cannabis should both exist, and have potential. I just don't agree with tax structure of I-502, or roadside blood tests.

First off, this was a heartbreaking, amazing, read. I love your feature articles and though they're frequently more social-based instead of hardcore study and research based find they get to some enormous social truths.

@110 I don't necessarily think this article is pointing fingers. But, much like Frizzelle, I find the "MJ is innocent" argument suspect. I have friends who smoke all too frequently, and they've become moody and a little more erratic with the increased amount they've smoked. Mind you, I support MJ and love the smell, even though I don't smoke it. But, prolonged heavy usage DOES have effects beyond munchies and forgetfulness. Just as prolonged heavy usage of any drug (alcohol, ecstasy, acid, cocaine, tobacco, caffeine, adderall, xanax, etc) will have an effect.

To get angry about an article pointing out that MJ can have effects on people proves the article's point about the defensiveness of MJ advocates. To your point, CF does not address what mixture of chemicals was in her system (and says he couldn't get the toxicology report). Everything was anecdotal.

But, she didn't work in a liquor store. Nobody said she was a drunk. And, if anybody said she was on mood enhancements, I would hope that CF would have written that in for completeness, RIGHT Frizzelle?

I think that MJ advocates do have to push the polarized reaction because of the polarization of the anti-MJ groups. But, I think it behooves them not to get mad at articles that at least acknowledge some of the faults of MJ, lest they come off as ninnies.

@95, just because you don't find the studies convincing is no reason to conclude that pot *isn't* a bad choice for those with psychosis. When it comes to someone's very fragile mental health, we don't want to go around letting people think that it might just be no big deal for them to smoke a ton of pot just because the evidence isn't fully conclusive. It's important to keep people with severe mental illness off of drugs like pot (and booze, and lots of other stuff) precisely because at this point, it looks like it could make it worse. And it's important to encourage them to use drugs that we know are effective at returning them to a stable place.

Don't get me wrong, I do think that more research should be done, but it would be irresponsible to deny the trend that pot is a poor choice to treat psychosis. Pot is not harmless, and I think that's one main take away. Can we all at least accept that? Let's talk about it objectively and reasonably, if we can put aside our personal attachments to it (sadly, I don't think most people can). Additionally, I have nothing to complain about the cops' actions: they heard screaming and had no real idea what the situation was. If the cops hear screaming coming from my house, I hope they kick the door down too.

@106: You're missing the point. Alcohol, inappropriate pharmaceuticals, caffeine--all of those things have been extensively studied, and it's generally understand that alcohol's pretty bad for people in general and none of those are a good way to handle mental illness. Nobody's under the impression that booze, or any other drug, might've been bad for her mental state.

It's the fact that people who support marijuana legalization don't get that pot can actually be bad. They don't know that marijuana can harm an unstable mental state. On the other hand, people who oppose it think it's a horrible drug that leads to a lot of other unreasonable shit. Nobody wants to face marijuana for what it really is, and that is the problem.

@116 -- mtnlion, thanks for all you have added to this thread. I'm with you on the cops, although it took me a while to come around. I was a skeptic at the time that they'd done the right thing. There used to be a whole other section about that -- their forcefulness, the stuff in the DOJ lawsuit about the way cops approach people who are mentally ill, the SPD spokesman who lost his cool when I asked a whole bunch of questions along those lines -- but they did the right thing given their resources and the situation, finally, and it took another 2,000 words to explain my evolution on it, and it didn't matter.

@ 74 -- This is an awesome update. Are there photos of Nadia?? I would LOVE to see this magical cat. Thomas told me in our interview that her original name was Darcy.

There is abundant evidence of a strong link between marijuana use and schizophrenia, especially if the use is early in life and heavy. Unfortunately, the typical response of the stoners is to deny the evidence and to shout "Reefer Madness!" at anyone who tries to mention the risks of marijuana.

We don't know whether marijuana causes schizophrenia, or simply exacerbates underlying predisposition to schizophrenia, or whether schizophranics are simply more likely to smoke pot.

But we do know that marijuana smokers are much more likely to be schizophrenic than the general population, and that if someone is schizophrenic, the heavy use of marijuana is likely to make that person's schizophrenia worse and harder to treat.

There are numerous and recent studies that show what I've just written. It's not mythology.

Click here to find the studies

Moreover, because schizophrenia typically doesn't become severe enough to radically interfere with someone's life until their early 20s, the use of pot in high school and college is a real crapshoot.

However, as it would happen, the heaviest marijuana users are between the ages of 18 and 25. One in six of that age group use pot, and then it drops off sharply.

The stoner crowd just won't deal with the reality. Maybe this article will help, but my guess is that most stoners will just come up with rationales to enable their ongoing denial.

Holy shit. One of the best pieces I've read in the Stranger lately. And depressing. I was reading this while eating a burrito then felt so down I lost my appetite and couldn't finish it

Well I don't know what the hell it is with this city. Ahem, the Seattle freeze. It's always mystified me, myself I get shit from my friends for being 'too nice' to others. As if we need more coldness instead. Fuck that.

I've found most people in this city I've met to be friendly, maybe it's because I know where the friendly bars, cafes are. But it takes time to actually become true friends with others. Why here more than most other cities full of people who are too busy to make new friends I have no idea

I loved this article. Echoing what some people have already said, it is so satisfying to read something thoughtful and intelligent, and willing to do more than just graze the surface of some really interesting issues, but without taking a self-interested hard line. Just provoking thought. Thank-you!

Thanks for this story Mr. Frizzelle. You honored Rosado with this piece of wonderful writing.

I have a friend who is bipolar schizoaffective and self-medicates with pot and has had multiple psychotic episodes. And she goes through periods where she smokes A LOT of pot (I don't know units of measurements in pot, but she'll take a hit every 15-30 minutes some days). And sometimes she just smokes a little bit to get to sleep, which is incredibly important for those of us with the crazy. I believe that pot has helped and harmed her. I've cursed her using it when I had to break into her house that she'd barricaded shut because The Shadow People were out to get her and I've been very thankful when it's calmed her down and let her rest.

Thank you, Christopher. I find it very meaningful that you have broached a topic which many Seattleites (and countless other Americans) have overlooked.

Is that section/piece still up online? It rings a bell (I am a faithful Stranger reader) but I'm not sure I've read all of it. I understand the cops in this situation, but I definitely think there should be more training for them on how to handle mental illness. A good percentage of the people they arrest will have mental issues, so they better figure that shit out.

I think it would be an excellent read to discover how the SPD views mental illness and how well trained/educated they are on the appropriate way to work with that population.

@125: Apparently the SPD has accepted the Memphis Model which creates special Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) which have been shown to reduce the injury rate when police interact with acute mentally ill persons. Members of CITs are given additional training on interacting with those who have a mental illness and are assigned throughout the police force so that they can always be on call. I wonder if a CIT was involved that night.

I understand your concern stated earlier that if the police hear someone screaming or got a report that someone was screaming that they would want to bust down the door. But from the perspective of a person in psychosis, someone busting down the door to your home could be seriously traumatic. I'm not claiming to have some secret answer, but as a general principle, busting down the door when someone is in psychosis sounds risky. If that person has a gun a cop could be shot, or if that person is near a window they could jump out.

WOW, I can't help but think how right she was by using flower. There is defiantly much more to this building than meets thee eye. These are reasons why we should all stop and take a moment to smile or simply say hello to our unknown neighbors.
I've always assumed Ganja helped(at least for me) deal and cope with stressful situations; not so in these cases.
Rosado I pray your soul is finally at peace, may you bask in the glory of the all mighty Omnipotent.
As for the remaining souls I pray they too find the light and may they too finally rest in peace.

WOW, I can't help but think how right she was by using flower. There is defiantly much more to this building than meets thee eye. These are reasons why we should all stop and take a moment to smile or simply say hello to our unknown neighbors.
I've always assumed Ganja helped(at least for me) deal and cope with stressful situations; not so in these cases.
Rosado I pray your soul is finally at peace, may you bask in the glory of the all mighty Omnipotent.
As for the remaining souls I pray they too find the light and may they too finally rest in peace

The woman had been MOLESTED. How did her psychosis get to be about marijuana? Why not several paragraphs on how being MOLESTED can cause psychosis and mental illness?
Marijuana use is a symptom of attempting to medicate a deeper pain. Without proper psychological help to deal with her trauma she was going to end up psychotic one way or another.
I feel admiration for how perfectly she did deal with it. It's apt to say others are attempting to finish the dream for her. A woman demands her pain to be witnessed, the pain of being traumatized, shamed, isolated...and some of those who witnessed in turn are moved to develop deeper, more meaningful connections, to share her story with the world, which in turn will have a ripple effect forward into the future.
I feel humbled by the beauty I perceive in this situation.

@126, I'm in no way arguing that for her state of mind it was a good thing for the door to be kicked down. And in hindsight, of course that was a stupid move. But consider their perspective at the actual time of the event: they had no way of knowing what was going on in there and felt they needed to intervene immediately. From where they were coming from, this person could have been getting stabbed or raped, killing herself in a way that could've been prevented, or overdosing on a psychoactive drug and in need of immediate medical attention. If this story was different, and it turned out she was screaming because she was dying of puncture wounds on the floor, you'd be criticizing the cops for *not* kicking her door down.

@129: again, missing the point. Everyone knows childhood abuse (sexual, physical, verbal, or any combination) can cause mental problems in later life. This is not a point that anyone is unaware of. That is not an article that needs to be written, and if someone did write an article like that ("sexual abuse may case severe mental illness in adulthood"), people would simply say "how sad," and "I know." They would also not have to face any deep seated beliefs they hold about sexual abuse, because everyone already knows that shit is W-R-O-N-G.

How did it get to be about marijuana? Well, this is a woman who had a very large amount of it. Not a casual smoker's amount. We can deduce she was using regularly and heavily. Also, marijuana increases activity in the brain which can intensify psychotic symptoms in those predisposed to them or who are already experiencing hallucinations, paranoia, and significant inner pain. That's the part people don't know about, won't talk about, and/or won't accept. And that's what makes this story about marijuana, in part.

We know that the abuse was one leading cause of her distress (of course, we can never rule out some organic brain problem as well), and that she did need help. But it also seems that using that much marijuana rapidly worsened her symptoms, and may have contributed to the psychosis which ultimately ended her life. That's why it's about pot, Bells, and not just childhood sexual abuse.

I would like to acknowledge that I have commented so much on this story because many people seem not to understand what Christopher's article is actually saying, or want to deny it for personal reasons. I have also long felt that the two camps ("Pot is a miracle herb that can cure anything,"/"Pot is the devil's weed and it will rot your brain and ruin your life") are both quite far from the actual mark. It's getting old.

Also, I work in the mental health field and watch people quickly go from being completely non-functional to very stable and normal on a regular basis. This is because they are being treated properly, and not just using the drugs they have been before (marijuana is usually on the list). There's very little argument among professionals that pot use is not the ideal choice for almost every type of mental illness. This is not a conspiracy; this is from seeing actual results in actually ill people. For others, it's downright dangerous. This is one of those cases.

Compelling, compelling, compelling. May she rest in peace.

So well done, Christopher.

I'm glad Hope (Nadia) the cat is OK, and that she likes her laser pointer.

@132- Thank you for your comments on this thread. I started smoking weed regularly a few years ago to help me cope with insomnia, anxiety, and depression from (what I now know to be) PTSD. I was, as you mentioned, distrustful of medical professionals. I only sought help after pot began to exacerbate my symptoms. Now that I have been processing my issues in therapy, I can see that weed was not actually helping me, it was only keeping me in a semi-functional holding pattern.

I understand why people get defensive when the talk turns to marijuana and mental illness, but what I have realized for myself is that self-medicating with weed is no different than self-medicating with alcohol.

@135 Read comment #74 for an update on the cat.

@117- "It's the fact that people who support marijuana legalization don't get that pot can actually be bad."

That's not a fact. SOME legalization advocates feel that way. I don't. I just feel the damage done by prohibition is much worse. Legalization would lead, among other things, to better information everywhere.

Cannabis and psychosis/schizophrenia: human studies. Deepak Cyril D’Souza, Richard Andrew Sewell, Mohini Ranganathan. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci (2009) 259:413–431.

Just put it into pubmed for a recent review of the relevant literature.

Yer welcome potheads.

More studies on marijuana and school performance, job performance, driving, and crime. The stoners adamantly refuse to discuss any of it.

@134, It's great to hear that you've found some peace in your life and have sought help for destructive patterns. And I think you bring up a great point: a lot of people believe marijuana is helping them because it temporarily calms them or otherwise makes them stop caring about what troubles them. But that's just what weed is (like alcohol) for personal troubles--acutely psychotic or not: a temporary fix.

@137, you're right; it's not a fact. I'm for the legalization of pot for the same reasons you probably are. I was drawing a broad generalization about those who espouse the notion that pot's "no big deal." Compared to a lot of other drugs, sure, but we've got to discuss the whole of it, as you suggest (yes, legalization will make it better).

At the moment, to a great degree because of its legal status, marijuana is far less popular than alcohol. 6% of the U.S.population over 12 uses pot, while 66% of the adult population uses alcohol.

If we legalize marijuana, its use will undoubtedly go up quite a bit. And so will severe schizophrenia.

YOU GUYS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER SEEN AN ARTICLE BE MORE COMMENTED ON THAN SAVAGE LOVE.

My younger brother has suffered from bipolar over the last 20 years. On a few occasions I've been with him when he smoked pot - he goes from 0 to 200 in a matter of seconds, completely off his rocker. This is from a couple of tokes, not heavy use at all, which I know he doesn't do. The first time it was offered to him I had no idea this would happen even though I knew he was having mental illness problems (though pre diagnosis and suicide attempt etc etc). The other times was when people offered it to him despite my warnings and/or protests.

Pot is a psychoactive plant and should be approached and respected as such. For 95% of the population it will just make one "stoned" but for the other 5% it can have heavy affects, sometimes from prolonged usage but maybe even from a toke or two (possibly the case of the Florida face eater). Great and sad article that hits close to home. Thank you Christopher.

My younger brother has suffered from bipolar over the last 20 years. On a few occasions I've been with him when he smoked pot - he goes from 0 to 200 in a matter of seconds, completely off his rocker. This is from a couple of tokes, not heavy use at all, which I know he doesn't do. The first time it was offered to him I had no idea this would happen even though I knew he was having mental illness problems (though pre diagnosis and suicide attempt etc etc). The other times was when people offered it to him despite my warnings and/or protests.

Pot is a psychoactive plant and should be approached and respected as such. For 95% of the population it will just make one "stoned" but for the other 5% it can have heavy affects, sometimes from prolonged usage but maybe even from a toke or two (possibly the case of the Florida face eater). Great and sad article that hits close to home. Thank you Christopher.

Truly touching and captivating. As someone with a mentally ill and drug-addicted sister, this really reminds me to see past the frustration she can bring to my family and understand the often overlooked pain she must go through constantly. Thank you for such a great piece, Christopher.

Love this article. So impressed. After several hard months of marijuana over-use, my younger brother emerged from the ashes with a full blown case of psychosis. He was about 19 at the time, exactly the age schizophrenia sometimes appears. Did he smoke pot to mask his illness? To make sense of his slipping reality? Did pot smoking make it worse, bring it on? Many of us know about the risks of LSD and mental illness, but we don't like to talk about marijuana and mental illness. For that matter, we need to do a WAY BETTER JOB talking about mental illness in general!! I sometimes smoke to deal with mild depression... but I often feel worse/addicted. This article comes at a perfect time. Thanks.

Love this article. Amazing, insightful folks commenting too. So impressed. After several hard months of marijuana over-use, my younger brother emerged from the ashes with a full blown case of psychosis. He was about 19 at the time, exactly the age schizophrenia sometimes appears. Did he smoke pot to mask his illness? To make sense of his slipping reality? Did pot smoking make it worse, bring it on? Many of us know about the risks of LSD and mental illness, but we don't like to talk about marijuana and mental illness. For that matter, we need to do a WAY BETTER JOB talking about mental illness in general. Education is key.

Sometimes there are ridiculous subjects and crude language and I can see why some people (who probably don't ever read it) don't take The Stranger seriously as journalism. Then there are articles like this which blow us away. Articles which hit us deep in the soul. Like the Eli's article on the Teresa Butz trial which can still bring tears to me eyes. It's these kinds of articles that remind me The Stranger is Pulitzer-class journalism.

Slight tangent: Cass Stewart is the perfect example of why we need legislation like Initiative 502, which would include guidelines/background checks for people who run these businesses. He is a not only ignorant, but a volatile and violent human being- He instigated a bloody fist fight within a shopping center and was subsequently trespassed. No way should he be involved in the distribution of mind altering substances.

Drugs are scary and we need better people dishing them out. It's that simple.

I think the main lesson is to Know Thy Neighbors. I think it is absolutely disgusting that we city people are not truly friendly with our neighbors. I am a friendly and attractive Seattlite who has lived here for twelve years. I have always tried to talk with ALL of my neighbors, baked cookies, etc, and there is still this introspective snotty coldness in this city. I do not want to leave Seatttle because I love the geography and weather, absolutely gorgeous. But the people...ugh. Ugly, smug, unfriendly, unsexy, neurotic. (And I was BORN here, a true Norwegian. I feel so Medditerranan in this town, disgusting, blandly white and disconnected.) Shame on you, Seattle.

Awesome article Mr. Frizzelle. I hope it will open some eyes to the fact that pot can induce/strengthen a psychotic episode.I believe that it is also a motivation killer.But that is an opinion the first is based on actual studies and research.
I don't think for a moment that any one in the article was a "character" except maybe the cat. Real people with real problems. I also believe that, as a reporter, Mr. Frizzelle had an obligation, if not to the readers than to himself, to dig as deep as he did. Obviously it touched quite a few nerves to get so many people to comment on it. It was unbiased, informative, and touched on so many controversial subjects.
Three cheers for #74, adopting pets doesn't happen enough and the cats name seemed appropriate and beautiful(in any language).
Once again, bravo Mr. Frizzelle, well done.

This article grabbed my attention for two reasons, 1. three weeks ago I found myself intervening to prevent a SWAT team from shooting my mentally ill next door neighbor (in a city far away from Seattle), and 2. even as a daily pot smoker for 12 years who has gain tremendous advantages from weed, I have many misgivings over its presentation as a panecea for all ills, and there is little question that weed played a role in greatly increasing this guy's symptoms leading to the SWAT stand off.

My neighbor was always a bit loony, being tall skinny and in his late 50's coming home from work at the office and then dressing in corsets and panties and blowing bubbles in his front yard. (Well, that part wasn't that loony, but if you talked to him he was clearly pretty devoid from reality.)

Three weeks ago, I looked out my window to see a guy in full tactical gear in my yard pointing his gun at my neighbor's house. Apparently, he had brandished a gun that later turned out to be A) antique, B) broken, and C) unloaded at a roommate who made noise while he was trying to sleep that afternoon.

After having read so many headlines in my life that read "family of mentally ill man upset over police shooting", I was frightened for him and wound up speaking to two negotiators and the operations chief to explain that while he was mentally ill, it was "dingbat" level mentally ill, and not scary crazy mentally ill and that I was skeptical about him having a working gun.

I was deeply relieved that they were actually very interested in my opinion that he probably had no idea of the seriousness of his actions and that the only person in this situation that was likely to get hurt was him. In the end, they stormed his house and arrested him without violence (the poor guy was asleep the whole "stand off", finally getting some sleep once the noisey roommate was out!).

Since he got bailed out, he decided to stop all drugs/alcohol/medication and is definitely a different person. Mentally ill, yes, loony toons off the deep end, no. And pot was his main thing.

Despite having had nothing but positive results with my own mental health and physical health from smoking pot daily for well over a decade, it doesn't take medical studies to see where someone who has totally lost all grip on reality probably won't benefit from such a mental drug. It didn't cause his problem, but I would say that it made it much, much worse.

I don't even think that you can necessarily cast a wide net and say that all people with serious mental illness would not benefit, as there are people in this comments section who weighed in with their own stories to the contrary, but I think that a great deal of caution and self-awareness should be used when going there.

@152, Move away, then.

I hardly think that insulting the inhabitants of an entire city in so many scathing words is any way to enamor them to you. From the way you write, it sounds like maybe the problem is you. I live here and have encountered mostly fun, interesting, and open people. When people complain about Seattleites and how "they" are, it makes me quite suspicious. Perhaps the haters are lacking the social skills to appropriately engage with others? Maybe they expect people to just be sooo charmed by them right off the bat?

Then again, I don't usually open with a line about how much better other places are or how unattractive they are (seriously, who cares if someone's ugly? You seem to have a big problem with that, which makes me think you're pretty shallow).

@154, I like your contribution; it was encouraging about the police. And an awesome perspective on how pot may have enhanced your state of mind, but an understanding of how it's not helpful for everyone.

"the cat was now moot."

Thank you, Christopher Frizzelle. Great piece and really has me thinking. I'm very sorry this happened to everyone touched by it.

RIP Alyssa.
Christopher - Very good writing, just now let's try to stick to one topic per article?
To use a mentally ill womans tragic death as a sneaky way for Rothman to air more of his batshit crazy, added to more ignorant and WRONG testifying about how great 5 0 2 is, in a piece about a womans tragic end of life is irresponsible, immature, and, well, flat wrong.
I have to ask, was this written before during or after "So we invited Tom over and the four of us drank", as that (and your boyfriends 'panic attack' ) is, to everyone else, just another tell about the standards morals and ethics of your fellow NAWbots.
What happened with Alyssa is neither because she smoked pot - which you hardly have the information nor the right to allege - whether she volunteered in a collective 3 or 4 times, or if her boyfriend smoked. Maybe the latex at Castle cauised it? Pfffft! As IF!
You know it, we know it, why can't you folks just choose your booze and not try leading the rest of whoever down that piss-soaked garden path?
Honestly Christopher, massive fail - a human being died. Please respect that.

Just heard you speak on KUOW. I piece that is missing from the conversation comes from a PBS or Discovery channel show on Marijuana and how THC levels have been bred to be higher and by doing this another chemical that protects the brain from psychosis has been decreased. That would explain the increase in incidents in more recent years.

Cass Stewart is the perfect example of why we need legislation like Initiative 502, which would include guidelines/background checks for people who run these businesses.

I-502 would exacerbate the problem. "Background checks" on dope sellers wouldn't do a damn thing to reduce the incidence of marijuana psychosis.

My neighbor was always a bit loony, being tall skinny and in his late 50's coming home from work at the office and then dressing in corsets and panties and blowing bubbles in his front yard. (Well, that part wasn't that loony, but if you talked to him he was clearly pretty devoid from reality.)

Which part wasn't loony -- the corsets, the panties, the front yard, the bubbles, the late 50s, the tall, or the skinny?

I lived in Capitol Hill for about five years. I thought it would be fun -- but it was the loneliest five years of my life. I don't have any mental health problems or whatever, so it's not like I was ever in danger of hurting myself or others. I tried to meet neighbors and new people and such, and found just an amazing level of apathy and insularity.

In a way, I get it -- Capitol Hill is really only interesting for a narrow band of people, and in retrospect, I wasn't one of them. I'm not bitter about it, but it was quite an education. I've moved since then, and am glad I did. I actually know my neighbors, and they aren't rail-thin heroin-addicted snobs.

Don't bother living in Capitol Hill unless you are 18-25, very attractive, and willing to act and dress in only very specific ways. Everyone else is really not welcome. And for a subculture that demands tolerance, it has very little.

tl;dr

Thanks for this article. My partner is bipolar with severe sleeping disorders. He smokes pot - not heavily - but he claims it helps keep him level and helps him sleep. Most of the time, it does. However, occasionally, it has also thrown him into nasty, self-destructive episodes of crazy irrationality and deep depression. He's denied the pot has anything to do with these episodes, but I feel it's pretty clear that they are connected.

Very impressed by this article. And moved by the way you have honored this woman in her passing and have spoken up for other people who may be walking a similar path. Thank you for writing this!

@161 Requiring competent and informed (and non-criminal) people to be the ones who distribute drugs would absolutely not exacerbate any problem. If any untrained person who has the means to start a business was allowed to operate and staff a pharmacy, there would be a dramatic increase in issues with prescribed drugs, as there would be no middle man to personally discuss harmful side effects, warnings, and interactions that are possible. As this article shows with the laughably ignorant, canned responses that the staff at the Apothecary give, the public has a marked interest in having better people with more pertinent knowledge being in charge of doling out powerful drugs.

Very impressed. This was a great article. You honored this woman's life wonderfully and offer real hope to people who may be treading a similar path. Thank you for writing this and for covering such difficult subjects. I'm excited to read more from you.

I live in 606. My friend in 605 died in Feb, alone. She was surrounded by friends and family but couldn't feel it. Our lack of community is killing people and destroying lives.

Sad, but excellent story with important information about mental health issues, marijuana use and suicide. Rosado's death was not in vain.

thank you for writing this, christopher, as hard as it may be for you, your boyfriend and neighbors to remember the details of that night. and thank you for your research into the lack of knowledge regarding marijuana and mental health issues. as a clinical social worker, i learned long ago that the hallmark symptom of marijuana smoking is paranoia. marijuana can escalate psychotic symptoms and is not for everyone. and, as a 17-year resident of beloved capitol hill, i want to extend my sincere condolences to you, your boyfriend, neighbors, and of course alyssa's family, boyfriend tom, and friends. furthermore, i would like to say this to you and your neighbors, if i may: thank you for your good work. we don't get recognized enough for the good work we do in this life that doesn't have a dollar sign attached to it. i enjoy your writings and it is obvious to me you are very talented in that area. but the work you and your neighbors did on that night, as well as your ex-maintenance man, chris', was pure grace, so thank you, all of you. i'm sorry the police weren't more gentle with dear alyssa, though i don't blame them for her death...i blame loneliness. the wall writings of your former neighbor who took his life, the sweet smile and breezy hellos of my former neighbor who took her life, selling all her possessions months before she left so friends wouldn't have much to carry away in the aftermath, all evidence to the fact that we can unknowingly live among desperation and supreme sadness. the kind gesture of making eye contact and saying hello is underrated, so lets keep trying. even if its awkward, embarrassing, or potentially opening a can of worms. the simple gesture is sometimes the most profound. thanks for the reminder, christopher and neighbors. i am not catholic, but i love this quote from mother teresa: if we have no hope, it is because we have forgotten we belong to one another. namaste. your neighbor, cat

This article is beautifully written. You have taken such a tragic subject and turned it into one that is not only touching and haunting, but also informative. I'm so sorry, in a sense, that you and your boyfriend were so close to this, but I'm so happy you've been able to record it so eloquently. I'll look for your articles in the future.

Thank you Christopher,

This article has alerted me to the link between sister's pot use and her psychosis. A few years after my sister suffered a serious brain injury she developed schizophrenic symptoms. Since this time she has been a heavy pot user. The pot use has coincided with her psychotic breaks. I have informed my family so we may try and keep her off the smoke.

I interpret her symptoms stemming from dissociative identity disorder. All or many of her ego states began to speak at once, engaging in a battle over the truth of her molestation. One of her alters liked weed.

This is so thoughtfully written. I had no idea about pot. I always thought it was harmless. Thanks so much.

If this article and it's topics most especially the loneliness, feelings of isolation and break from reality all in this apartment building were expanded into a book, I would read it. If it were a movie, I would watch it.

Alyssa Rosado was apparently half Tlingit Indian whom reside in Southeast Alaska.In 2004 the Juneau Empire newspaper mentions her being in a group of 11 Native students conducting interviews at a conference .She was a sophmore at Juneau Douglas High School.Is there any photos of her?Or does it matter?The less we know of the crazy lady makes Frizzells article more tantalizing.Speaking of isolation,the old time Alaska Natives that used to patronize the Hawaii West Tavern and the Rendevous on 2nd Ave said in the days before mass transportation,some Alaska Natives would get stuck in cold Nordic Seattle and die of homesickness and despair

This was a very compelling and thoughtful piece. This is also one of the few articles that features perspectives on mental health from a not-strictly biological point of view which I found very refreshing. The fact that mental health crises result from real pain and confusion resulting from life events and insufficient coping resources (whether environmental and/ or genetic) and not some vague "chemical imbalance" for which only pills are the answer is something that needs to be out there much more. Thanks for this!

This is a very compelling and thoughtful piece. Its one of the few articles I've ever seen that features perspectives on mental health that were not strictly from a biological point of view which I found to be very refreshing. The fact that mental health crises (or any issues) arise from real pain and confusion stemming from unfortunate life events that are exaccerbated by a lack of a support network and insuficient coping resources (whether environmental or genetic) and not only by some vague "chemical imbalance" for which random combinations of pills seem to be the only answer is something that needs to be represented much more in conversations about mental health.

Also I love the conclusion about getting to know ones neighbors more. we all have a role to play in the isolation or inclusion of all people in our daily lives. So much pain and trauma comes from lonesome childhoods because no one would play with the "weird" kid and I still see so much of that behavior in adult life. Thanks so much for this!

Update on the cat: http://seattleanimalshelterfoundation.or…

This article is the worst piece of crap ever written Chris F is just seeking out attention while feeding off a girls death he frequented the Apothecary all the time. What a waste of space. Regarding Aurora on post 148. HA HA
I know Cass Stewart and he is a great guy in it for the right reasons. He got in tussle with some drugged out loser who threatened is daughter and family. Paige anderson jumped in an assaulted him. all were trespassed and now police involvement. Obviously Paige's mother quilt ridden that her kids have all been raised by there grandmother is now going around slandering his name. While they try to sue and bilk the system every chance they get.. TOTAL LOSER FAMILY cops said there JUGALOS. BUT KEEP TRYING

This article is the worst piece of crap ever written Chris F is just seeking out attention while feeding off a girls death he frequented the Apothecary all the time. What a waste of space. Regarding Aurora on post 148. HA HA
I know Cass Stewart and he is a great guy in it for the right reasons. He got in tussle with some drugged out loser who threatened is daughter and family. Paige anderson jumped in an assaulted him. all were trespassed and NO police involvement. Obviously Paige's mother quilt ridden that her kids have all been raised by there grandmother is now going around slandering his name. While they try to sue and bilk the system every chance they get.. TOTAL LOSER FAMILY cops said there JUGALOS. BUT KEEP TRYING