UK teen commits suicide after being brought to court over 50p of cannabis

B.A._Baracus · 23-02-2013 09:17PM

carrig2 wrote: »

An illegal substance is an illegal substance. End of.
Also it was not the first time.
It is a tragic story but don't blame the police

I bet you'd be the type to nick your own granny if you become a gardai, right

or perhaps you already are?

I mean, I am just voicing my opinion. Are you a gardai? is daddy a gardai?

dizzywizlw · 23-02-2013 09:18PM

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

I bet you'd be the type to nick your own granny if you become a gardai, right or perhaps you already are?

I mean, I am just voicing my opinion. Are you a gardai? is daddy a gardai?

Cannabis should be legal IMO

but it's not....

juice1304 · 23-02-2013 09:21PM

dizzywizlw wrote: »

Who did Seanie Fitz hurt?
Who do paedos who only look at images hurt?

Hey look at that, obtuse arguments that disregard the law...

Wrong because for the images to be created an act involving and physically affecting someone else would have had to take place.
I guess you are right though who am i to question "The Law" I suppose you are right we should all be good little boys and girls and never question what is wrong or right just do as we are told.

Big Bottom · 23-02-2013 09:21PM

This just highlights how dangerous weed and cannabis is to young people mental health.

Very sad story.

carrig2 · 23-02-2013 09:22PM

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

I bet you'd be the type to nick your own granny if you become a gardai, right or perhaps you already are?

I mean, I am just voicing my opinion. Are you a gardai? is daddy a gardai?

I am not a Garda. Neither was my father. Or brothers or husband or best friends etc.,
When is it ok to have an illegal substance, how much is ok?
How much is ok to steal from someone before it is serious?
How much can someone hit someone else before it crosses the line between ok and not ok?

E.S.T. · 23-02-2013 09:22PM

juice1304 wrote: »

And why should he be who did he hurt? whos life did it effect other than his? No one.
The laws prohibiting cannabis are ment to protect people how dose sending someone to prison to live with violent criminals help? How dose making it hard to find work help? What help do they provide? None.
Which is the lesser of two evils? Destroying someones life because they "May" develop schizophrenia if they have a genetic predisposition and smoke a large amount as an adolescent or letting them make their own decision to smoke a joint.
I think it is hilarious that people get up on their high horse over here about cannabis when binge drinking is looked upon as fine "sure it's our culture".

Even pro-legalization groups like NORML think marijuana should be off limits for kids. Just like alcohol that means underage possession of marijuana would still be a crime.

Marijuana, like other drugs, is not for kids. There are many activities in our society that we permit adults to do, but forbid children, such as motorcycle riding, skydiving, signing contracts, getting married and drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco.

The NORML Board of Directors has adopted a set of principles called the "Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use," and the first principle is "Cannabis consumption is for adults only; it is irresponsible to provide cannabis to children."

My name is URL · 23-02-2013 09:24PM

Big Bottom wrote: »

This just highlights how dangerous weed and cannabis is to young people mental health.

From one extreme to the other...

foggy_lad · 23-02-2013 09:26PM

A tragic death. Many suicides are as a result of some degree of depression or underlying mental illness and unfortunately the use of drugs like cannabis and head shop drugs is common among those suffering from depression and mental illness. What these people don't realise though is that such drugs are only making their condition worse.

sensormatic · 23-02-2013 09:27PM

until it happens to one of your own you wont understand or be posting foolish jibes about it here drugs kill,,,dealing kills,,,prison can start you on drugs as well its a shop it is,,,,.

Grayson · 23-02-2013 09:28PM

HondaSami wrote: »

The cop did not kill him, he killed himself. It's easy blame the cops, takes the responsibility from the victim.

Look at cases like Aaron Schwartz. It's possible for the police and the CPS to be far too heavy handed. If their response was out of proportion, then they can be said to hold a share of the blame and can be said to have contributed unfairly to blame.

cml387 wrote: »

Using a child's suicide to press for legalisation of the weed is a bit of low, I would have thought.

I would have thought that prosecuting a tenager someone for 50 pence worth of drugs was very excessive.

Blay wrote: »

Wasn't in fear enough after the first time obviously.

But the second time when he killed himself he obviously was? If that's your threshold, that's worrying.

token101 · 23-02-2013 09:29PM

sensormatic wrote: »

until it happens to one of your own you wont understand or be posting foolish jibes about it here drugs kill,,,dealing kills,,,prison can start you on drugs as well its a shop it is,,,,.

And every time you pass a shop it's their fault you buy something is it?

somefeen · 23-02-2013 09:31PM

There was probably something else seriously wrong with his life to contemplate suicide over this.

Its a non story

Witcher · 23-02-2013 09:31PM

Grayson wrote: »

But the second time when he killed himself he obviously was? If that's your threshold, that's worrying.

If he was in fear of being refused a visa he shouldn't have been in possession of an illegal substance, he already had a warning for it..obviously the warning didn't wake him up.

juice1304 · 23-02-2013 09:34PM

E.S.T. wrote: »

Even pro-legalization groups like NORML think marijuana should be off limits for kids. Just like alcohol that means underage possession of marijuana would still be a crime.

I agree with that also,
But how would a criminal conviction for 50p worth of cannabis benefit him?
It would have been of more benefit for the police officer to bring him home tell his mother and give him a good telling off.
Alcohol is a drug which you need a licence to sell, If someone is found to be drinking underage they don't get a criminal conviction to follow them around for the rest of their life, they also aren't barred form entering America, Australia Canada, New Zealand. At most they would get a fine that you pay to the county council.

Corkbah · 23-02-2013 09:36PM

Grayson wrote: »

I would have thought that prosecuting a tenager someone for 50 pence worth of drugs was very excessive.

if the CPS prosecute while the kids are still kids there is a chance they will see the error of their ways and avoid a life of crime
(Cant speak for England but in Ireland most juvenile criminals will be given plenty of opportunity to change their ways ...ie. no conviction despite multiple court appearances)

This kid had a chance to change and stop using weed ...the quantity he had doesn't really matter, as long as it was enough for personal use....the police are not to blame, if anyone actually blames the police ...ask yourself ... did the guy who sold the gun or made the gun actually kill the victim or did the person who pulled the trigger kill the victim ?

Grayson · 23-02-2013 09:38PM

foggy_lad wrote: »

A tragic death. Many suicides are as a result of some degree of depression or underlying mental illness and unfortunately the use of drugs like cannabis and head shop drugs is common among those suffering from depression and mental illness. What these people don't realise though is that such drugs are only making their condition worse.

He was an athlete. He might have been using canabis, but it would have been small scale as he wouldn't have wanted anything to affect his performance. He was on the U18 UK team.
He wanted to become a coach in the US, but the conviction would have meant his career was over before it started.
That much was in the original article

This one in the daily mail doesn't mention anything about depression or serial drug use. it does mention that his case was handled incorrectly by the police
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2283367/Edward-Thornber-Former-head-boy-17-Catholic-school-killed-summoned-court-cannabis-worth-just-50p.html

Strange thing is that without any evidence, you'd stigmatize a dead boy by inferring he was a junkie and suffering from mental illnesses.

E.S.T. · 23-02-2013 09:38PM

juice1304 wrote: »

I agree with that also,
But how would a criminal conviction for 50p worth of cannabis benefit him?
It would have been of more benefit for the police officer to bring him home tell his mother and give him a good telling off.
Alcohol is a drug which you need a licence to sell, If someone is found to be drinking underage they don't get a criminal conviction to follow them around for the rest of their life, they also aren't barred form entering America, Australia Canada, New Zealand. At most they would get a fine that you pay to the county council.

Can't speak to the UK but even here in the US it is very unlikely that a marijuana possession would stay on your record if you stay out of a trouble for 6-12 months even if your an adult. Also you can get arrested for drinking underage and charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol, or disorderly conduct, or public nuisance, etc. Most of the time when people get arrested for weed they have brought attention to themselves for some other reason to begin with.

Grayson · 23-02-2013 09:39PM

Corkbah wrote: »

if the CPS prosecute while the kids are still kids there is a chance they will see the error of their ways and avoid a life of crime
(Cant speak for England but in Ireland most juvenile criminals will be given plenty of opportunity to change their ways ...ie. no conviction despite multiple court appearances)

This kid had a chance to change and stop using weed ...the quantity he had doesn't really matter, as long as it was enough for personal use....the police are not to blame, if anyone actually blames the police ...ask yourself ... did the guy who sold the gun or made the gun actually kill the victim or did the person who pulled the trigger kill the victim ?

It's not even standard procedure. the police admitted they made mistakes. I think I can blame them.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/edward-thornber-ex-head-boy-teenage-1727004

However, he had been caught smoking cannabis with a friend earlier that summer while on holiday in Newquay.

It was the second time he had been caught with the drug.

At the town's police station, he agreed to accept a "final warning", which he believed would not result in him having a criminal record - or jeopardise his chances of pursuing a lacrosse career in the US.

However, his family's solicitor at law firm Pannone LLP says Devon and Cornwall Police made a series of errors following his arrest.

Among them included the details of Edward's case being put in a blue file instead of a pink youth file - resulting in the matter being processed wrongly and a court summons issued.

Madam_X · 23-02-2013 09:42PM

dizzywizlw wrote: »

Who did Seanie Fitz hurt?
Who do paedos who only look at images hurt?

Hey look at that, obtuse arguments that disregard the law...

Yeh, carrying a tiny amount of cannabis is really comparable to the above.

Article is very suspect all right though - using this kid's suicide to push an agenda. Classy. As asked, was the publication privy to a suicide note in which the lad stated this is why he did it? If not, they should stfu.

juice1304 · 23-02-2013 09:51PM

E.S.T. wrote: »

Can't speak to the UK but even here in the US it is very unlikely that a marijuana possession would stay on your record if you stay out of a trouble for 6-12 months even if your an adult. Also you can get arrested for drinking underage and charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol, or disorderly conduct, or public nuisance, etc. Most of the time when people get arrested for weed they have brought attention to themselves for some other reason to begin with.

Any drugs conviction no matter how small automatically bans you from entering america.

Corkbah · 23-02-2013 09:56PM

Grayson wrote: »

It's not even standard procedure. the police admitted they made mistakes. I think I can blame them.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/edward-thornber-ex-head-boy-teenage-1727004

and you don't blame the person who actually commits the crime !

he was not to blame at all !

(correct me if I'm wrong but is it your opinion that the police are the only ones at fault ie. responsible for the death ?)

SparkySpitfire · 23-02-2013 09:56PM

What's the deal? Like, is it just being publicised more or are people getting more easily hurt these days? Like, obviously this boy had underlying issues and this just sent him over the edge. But I am 20 years old. I know 3 people that have attempted suicide and one person I used to be close to that was successful at it.

What is it with these times? Do people have less than thick skins these days? Are there more causes of depression out there? Or is the media just having a field day with suicide that it never had in the past?

It seems to be everywhere. But even scarier, it seems to be happening over fairly trivial things. (Which are obviously distorted in the person's mind, but still).

Corkbah · 23-02-2013 10:03PM

SparkySpitfire wrote: »

What's the deal? Like, is it just being publicised more or are people getting more easily hurt these days? Like, obviously this boy had underlying issues and this just sent him over the edge. But I am 20 years old. I know 3 people that have attempted suicide and one person I used to be close to that was successful at it.

What is it with these times? Do people have less than thick skins these days? Are there more causes of depression out there? Or is the media just having a field day with suicide that it never had in the past?

It seems to be everywhere. But even scarier, it seems to be happening over fairly trivial things. (Which are obviously distorted in the person's mind, but still).

Suicide is no longer a taboo subject ... people are encouraged to discuss it so we have a better understanding of how people are driven to do it.

Personally I attempted suicide at the age of 12 - because the teacher took sweets from me, at the time it was pointed out to me how selfish the act of suicide is ...how the person who commits suicide leaves behind so many unanswered questions and so many people who love them .... but they generally don't see the people that love them or don't feel loved.

The vast majority (if not all) suicides are caused by depression - which medical professionals are trying to have recognised as a lack of seratonin in the brain (anti-depressants are generally assisting the body to produce seratonin ...which makes us feel happy) ...there are multiple factors which reduce seratonin in the brain.... even daylight/sunlight has been proven to increase seratonin (which is commonly referred to as SADS ... people get depressed by the bad weather, lack of daylight and general sh!tiness .... constant bad news on TV etc)

juice1304 · 23-02-2013 10:03PM

Loosing any chance of moving to america to work at your dream job is not trivial, being labelled with a drugs conviction for the rest of your days in not trivial. He did'nt kill himself over smoking cannabis he killed himself because of the damaging consequences of being caught which are ment to protect people but they don't they just stigmatize them and label them criminals.

HondaSami · 23-02-2013 10:04PM

Grayson wrote: »

Look at cases like Aaron Schwartz. It's possible for the police and the CPS to be far too heavy handed. If their response was out of proportion, then they can be said to hold a share of the blame and can be said to have contributed unfairly to blame.

He all ready had a warning which his parents knew about but they were not aware of this other incident, could be he was afraid to tell them, did not want to disappoint them.
It's sad he took his own life but no one knows why he did that or what other problems he may have had.
I'm not sure blaming the police is the way to go on this.

Chuck Stone · 23-02-2013 10:04PM

dizzywizlw wrote: »

Who did Seanie Fitz hurt?

Everyone in the fucking country who'll be paying for his profligacy.

Who do paedos who only look at images hurt?

The children in the images are being hurt. The desire to see images creates a demand and children get hurt.

Stop embarrassing yourself with dumb arguments.

Grayson · 23-02-2013 10:06PM

Corkbah wrote: »

and you don't blame the person who actually commits the crime !

he was not to blame at all !

(correct me if I'm wrong but is it your opinion that the police are the only ones at fault ie. responsible for the death ?)

So, if i catch you telling a small fib and give you a sound trashing for telling a lie, it's all your fault?

Grayson · 23-02-2013 10:06PM

HondaSami wrote: »

He all ready had a warning which his parents knew about but they were not aware of this other incident, could be he was afraid to tell them, did not want to disappoint them.
It's sad he took his own life but no one knows why he did that or what other problems he may have had.
I'm not sure blaming the police is the way to go on this.

He was found dead with a note and the summons.

Mardy Bum · 23-02-2013 10:09PM

Unless reality has been engulfed by the Dead Poets Society I would say there is a little more to the story.

MaxSteele · 23-02-2013 10:09PM

Ah isn't this just delightful. A teenager ends his own life all because he had a fart of grass that could fit under your fingernail. Dreams of moving to the US shattered. Ridiculous.

"Shure isn't it illegal hey ? shure it's the law hey ?" Who gives a tu'penny fcuk about whether carrying grass is illegal or not. Fcuking mongs.

I hope this is a wake up call to some people.

UK teen commits suicide after being brought to court over 50p of cannabis

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