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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Parents blame cannabis for son's suicide
Paul Britton Manchester Evening News
Monday 17 Apr 2006 A GRIEVING family blame cannabis for causing the mental illness that drove their son to suicide. Lee Michael Wellock, 24, was found hanging from a tree with a note in his pocket indicating that he intended to kill himself. Lee had smoked the drug since he left Elton High school in Bury to work at a computer company. His parents, Michael and Denise, of Newington Drive in Bury, said it "took over and controlled" their son's life and ultimately led to his death. Lee, who did not drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or take any other drugs, developed mental health problems at the age of 18 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 22, an inquest in Bury was told. Hanged He was found hanged on land behind Douglas Avenue in Bury in July last year. His father Michael, 58, said Lee went from a happy boy who excelled at school and had many friends to a withdrawn, aggressive and moody character. He added: "We have lost our son through that damn stuff and much more needs to be done to research the links between cannabis and mental health issues." Opinion is divided over links between the drug and mental illness. Cannabis was downgraded by former Home Secretary David Blunkett from Class B to Class C status. But Mr Wellock said it should be reclassified and warned other parents to look for the same symptoms that Lee displayed. He said: "Everybody thinks there is nothing wrong with cannabis. People think it is socially acceptable but it does cause mental problems. It is like playing Russian roulette with your life. Symptoms "Hopefully, parents will read this and recognise the symptoms. Cannabis was how it all started. It just carried on and on and on. "This should serve as a strong warning." Lee's sister Jane, 23, said: "He used to smoke it every day, sometimes all day. "He was a normal lad. He was blossoming at school and was the clown of the class. Everybody liked him, but he became something else. "We tried to help but he could not even help himself." The M.E.N. reported in April 2005 how the parents of Stephen Breheny, a promising student nurse from Unsworth in Bury, blamed the drug for causing the depression that led to his suicide. Daily use The 22-year-old had used cannabis since his late teens and smoked it every day in the two weeks before his death in December 2004, an inquest heard He also hanged himself. Mental health charity Rethink is calling for a definitive study on the long-term affects of cannabis. "A spokesman said health service reports reveal prolonged cannabis use doubles the risk of developing psychosis and mental illnesses. At Lee's inquest coroner Barrie Williams recorded a verdict of suicide.
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