Posted on 08/30/2006 9:27:52 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Cannabis-induced delusions drove a soldier to hack his best friend's father to death with a pair of garden shears, a court heard today.
Laurie Draper, 31, wept as he blamed puffs on just a couple of pipes of the drug for the sudden outburst of frenzied violence which killed popular teacher Paul Butterworth, 53.
The lance corporal, who had served in Iraq, admitted manslaughter, and also admitted assaulting his friend, Mr Butterworth's son Ashley, 33.
Prosecutors accepted shaven-headed Draper's plea of not guilty to murder after medical tests found he was suffering from 'cannabis-induced delusions' and hypomania.
Hypomania is a condition which involves hyperactivity and a grandiose sense of power.
The case will reignite the controversy over the Government's 2004 decision to downgrade cannabis to a class C drug - with users now facing simply a warning instead of arrest and possible jail.
Critics argue there is mounting evidence that cannabis is not only a 'gateway' drug to harder substances such as heroin, but also that it poses a serious danger to mental health in itself. Scientists say it is a common factor in sparking schizophrenia.
Draper, who lived in army barracks in Colchester, Essex, attacked Paul Butterworth with a pair of long-handled shears in the back garden of the teacher's home in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, in March, St Albans Crown Court was told.
He had not used cannabis for years - but on that night, after smoking only two pipes of the drug, he suddenly went wild.
A source close to the case said: 'Draper had been displaying bizarre behaviour for a couple of months - but clearly cannabis tipped the scales and he went completely beserk on this occasion. It was a cannabis-induced psychotic rage.
'He had not seen his best friend Ashley for two years, and at first it was a perfectly nice friendly evening. But suddenly, after smoking the cannabis, he just flipped for no apparent reason.
'He thought he was on fire, the house was on fire, and that Paul and Ashley were trying to attack him. He went into the kitchen and doused it with water, then stripped his clothes off - and attacked Paul.
'He absolutely hacked him to death with this pair of long-handled shears, tree croppers, hitting him about 50 times in the head and face.
'Ashley tried to save his father, but then he fled because he was convinced he was going to be killed as well. He was probably right.'
Neighbour Linda Howard said: 'I saw the arrested man being led away in handcuffs, he was completely naked. There were two officers restraining him.
'Ashley had cradled his dad in his arms and tried to save him but he stood no chance.'
Prosecutor Ann Evans, told the court: 'There's no suggestion that even shortly before the act there was any ill-feeling between the parties at all.
'This seems absolutely exceptional.'
That was why, she said, the Crown considered the charge of murder 'inappropriate'.
Stephen Atkinson, defending, said the defendant was 'of hitherto good character', and would be calling his army officers to speak in mitigation for his crimes.
Draper, whose family had a history of mental illness, served in the Royal Logistic Corps, attached to the 13th Air Assault Brigade, and based in Colchester.
He had completed six-months in Iraq in 2003 and was in the process of leaving the army when cannabis made him kill.
Former army colleague Matthew Holmes said: 'He was a brilliant soldier who loved the Army.'
Mr Butterworth was a canoeist and animal-lover who kept owls and lizards. He had separated from his wife Lesley two years ago.
Their son Ashley became friends with Draper when the two boys were growing up together in Leicester.
Gentle craft and design teacher Mr Butterworth had worked for 18 years at Sheredes comprehensive in Hoddesdon, regularly taking his pupils on trips to Colchester zoo.
Head teacher Rob Robson said after his death: 'Many parents have contacted us to say how much Paul, with his friendly and caring nature, meant to their children.'
Draper will be sentenced at the end of next month - and Judge Michael Baker warned yesterday it was 'obviously inevitable' he would be jailed.
The number of cannabis smokers in Britain is believed to have soared by 20 per cent to 3.5m since Labour came to power.
And recently published figures showed that hospital admissions for mental illness linked to cannabis leapt from 490 in 2001 to 710 last year, after the drug had been downgraded in law.
to blame of being stoned= to blame on being stoned
My BS meter has pegged out on this one. First of all, the guy clearly had mental problems before the incident. Secondly, pot doesn't cause hallucinations unless there is another drug present (e.g., PCP), especially considering he admitted to only a couple of puffs. Besides, if he was smoking pot, he'd be too paranoid and lazy to kill.
I thought about the possibility of that. But, either somebody's an idiot for blaming cannabis instead of PCP, or somebody's just a plain old idiot. I'm guessing it's the latter.
"There's a distinct possibility."
"Marijuana doesn't lead to more drugs, it leads to f***ing carpentry" -- Denis Leary
Eating a whole package of Oreo Double-Stuff cookies to yourself DOES NOT make you mental!
Sounds to me like the pot was laced with PCP or similar. Either that, or the guy was so far around the bend that eating a pair of Twinkies would have set him off, too.
I've known a number of potheads in my day, and the worst things they ever did was steal the last of the Doritos and lose their jobs. (Not necessarily related. :)
According to the 1937 documentary "Reefer Madness", this is what always happens
______
But only to the men. The white women have sex with black jazz musicians.
I find it hard to believe "cannabis" caused him to act out his "delusions".
I'm thinking it has more to do with the medical tests that showed he has hypomania than anything. And I would bet he has more going on mentally than just hypomania, to cause him to act out as he did.
Definition of Hypomania
Hypomania: A condition similar to mania but less severe. The symptoms are similar with elevated mood, increased activity, decreased need for sleep, grandiosity, racing thoughts, and the like. However, hypomanic episodes differ in that they do not cause significant distress or impair one's work, family, or social life in an obvious way while manic episodes do.
Hypomanic people tend to be unusually cheerful, have more than ample energy, and need little sleep. Hypomania is a pleasurable state. It may confer a heightened sense of creativity and power. However, hypomania can subtly impair a person's judgment. Too much confidence can conceal the consequences of decisions.
Hypomania can be difficult to diagnose because it may masquerade as mere happiness. It is important to diagnose hypomania because, as an expression of bipolar disorder, it can cycle into depression and carry an increased risk of suicide.
I think the guy's real problem is that he woke up one morning and realized his parents had named him Laurie.
In other news: Caffine makes you eat babies! "
100% reefer madness BS is right!
Other medical research has shown nearly 90% of Americans who died in Idaho in 2003 had ingested potatoes in the last 2 years!..... / sarc
Didja light 'im up? Did it do any good?
With the disclaimer said, I used to smoke marijuana daily for years back in my college-age days (just a few years ago). I can attest that never have I seen any violence induced by cannabis by any of the hundreds and hundreds of people I have smoked with. However, alcohol caused fights all of the time.
"LEAP presents to civic, professional, educational, and religious organizations, as well as at public forums, but we target civic groups; Chambers of Commerce, Rotaries, Lions and Kiwanis Clubs, etc. The people in these organizations are conservative folks who mostly agree with the drug-warriors that we must continue the war on drugs at any cost. They are also very solid members of their communities; people who belong to civic organizations because they want the best for their locales. Every one of them will be voting in every election. Many are policy-makers and if they are not, they are the people who can pull the coat tails of policy-makers and say, "We have someone you must hear talk about drug policy."
"After making more than two-thousand presentations where LEAP calls for the government to "end prohibition and legalize all drugs--legalize them so we can control and regulate them and keep them out of the hands of our children," we have discovered that the vast majority of participants in those audiences agree with us. Even more amazing is that we are now attending national and international law-enforcement conventions where we keep track of all those we speak with at our exhibit booth. After we talk with them, only 6% want to continue the war on drugs, 14% are undecided, and an astounding 80% agree with LEAP that we must end drug prohibition. The most interesting thing about this statistic is that only a small number of that 80% realized any others in law enforcement felt the same." About LEAP - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
BS.
Carolyn
They were fairly common male names in the South in the 19th century, but yes they have flipped genders since.
Emptied our revolvers at him, about 50% hits, I don't even think he noticed. Took off running, ran right off a cliff about a block later and fell into the rocks (this was Ocean Beach in San Diego). Between the rocks and the waves, that did him in.
The scariest part was that the guy looked NORMAL--the pot took enough of the PCP twitchiness away that he just looked like he was drunk.
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