CANNABIS MADE MY SON HANG HIMSELF

A heartbroken father believes cannabis drove his son to take his own life.

Gregory Thibeault told the Croydon Guardian his son Geoffrey's
long-term habit triggered mental health problems which led the
34-year-old dad-of-three hanging himself.

Speaking from his home in Sandpiper Lane, Selsdon, Gregory said he
hoped his son's story would encourage others to give the drug up.

He said: "There's a lot of talk about cannabis being a soft' drug,
but I believe it can trigger things in certain people and I believe
this is what happened in Geoff's case.

"I am absolutely convinced that cannabis altered something in his
mind and nobody is going to tell me any different. I believe cannabis
was ultimately responsible for his death."

An inquest into Geoffrey's death at Croydon Coroner's Court heard how
the painter and decorator's GP urged him to give up cannabis on March
24 after he complained of paranoia, believing his telephone was
bugged and that he was being monitored by police.

But on April 16, Gregory called police to his son's home in Milton
Road, Croydon, after he failed to turn up to a family lunch.

Gregory added: "We were all sitting in the restaurant waiting for
him. When he didn't turn up I knew something was wrong.

"He'd told me the day before that he would eventually kill himself
and I asked him not to do that to us."

Police broke into the property, which had been barricaded from the
inside, and found Geoffrey hanging from the staircase.

The hearing heard officers found cash left neatly piled on top of the
washing machine as well as a note asking for forgiveness for what he had done.

A postmortem showed no trace of cannabis in Geoffrey's system at the
time of his death.

Gregory added: "Geoff had smoked cannabis since his early 20s. The
ironic thing was that at the time of his death he was off the stuff.
But I guess by then it was too late, the damage had already been done.

"Geoffrey was separated from the mother of his children but he was a
happy-go-lucky guy. Cannabis changed him.

"The week before his death he had been on holiday with us and he
seemed happier. But he was obsessed with this idea that his phone and
ours were being tapped and that people were watching him. He was due
to see a doctor about his state of mind."

Recording an open verdict last Thursday, coroner Dr Roy Palmer said
he couldn't be sure Geoffrey was mentally capable of forming the
necessary intention to kill himself.