HOW CANNABIS TURNED A BRIGHT PUBLIC SCHOOLBOY INTO A SCHIZOPHRENIC

Mark Watson, a much-loved son from a secure and comfortable
background, had a bright future before him. But at 16 his behaviour
became erratic and threatening and he was diagnosed with
schizophrenia.

His father David, a GP, believes his son's condition was triggered by
his use of cannabis. Here, Dr Watson, 63, who lives with his second
wife Lynn, 50, a head teacher, in Devizes, Wiltshire, tells his
family's tragic story. As Mark and I sat together in the living room
he suddenly turned to me and proclaimed with absolute conviction,
'You've got red eyes again, I don't like it.' When I asked him gently
what he meant, my son fought hard to suppress his agitation, crying
out: 'You know what it means. You're the devil. I know you are the
devil.'

Only months before my son had been a happy, energetic teenager with
the world at his feet. He was now someone who at times seemed like a
complete stranger, and I watched, horrified, as he made his terrifying
descent into a nightmare world of hallucination, confusion and paranoia.

I am an intensely private person and my family means everything to me.
So it is not easy to speak out about my son. But I need to make people
aware that what has happened to Mark is not simply random biological
bad luck - but was, I believe, triggered by smoking cannabis.

Mark's illness should be a warning to every parent and a lesson to
every liberal politician who believes street drugs like this are
basically harmless.

Mark had such tremendous potential. A happy and healthy child, he was
also very good looking and at the age of 11 even worked for a child
model agency after being spotted while playing rugby.

When he was three his mother and I divorced quite amicably. We decided
it would be better if Mark and our two other children Kathryn, now 27,
and Graham, 25, should remain in the family home and their mother
would live nearby. Often I would come home and find her cooking meals
for the children. Certainly it didn't seem to affect their behaviour.

When Mark was 11 he passed the entrance exam to become a day pupil at
the UKP2,000-aterm Prior Park Public School and I was immensely proud of
him.

He excelled in sport, particularly rugby and I loved to watch him
play. He also worked hard, gaining ten GCSEs. We had a close
relationship and I loved spending time with him, going fishing or
shooting at a local club.

However, after starting the sixth form in September 1998 to study for
four A-levels, Mark's behaviour began to change. As a teenager he
loved to go out to clubs with friends at the weekends. But when he
came back he would be vague, silly and uncoordinated. As my son Graham
who was 18 at the time pointed out, his younger brother was clearly
'stoned' - under the influence of some kind of mild drug.

Of course, I was alarmed though not surprised by how easily a teenage
boy, eager to experiment, could acquire these drugs. All I could do
was plead with Mark not to touch the likes of cannabis.

I've known all my professional life that this so-called soft drug has
been associated with mental illness and at one point I physically got
down on my knees and begged him not to use it. But he would just shrug
his shoulders or smile benignly.

As the months went on Mark would stay up all night watching television
or listening to music, complaining he couldn't sleep. He also became
increasingly distant. His mother and I spoke frequently about it, but
neither of us could fathom it.

A few months later, in May 1999 I got a call from one of his
schoolmasters to say Mark's work had deteriorated badly. I tried to
talk to him but he just said he wanted to leave school and that he
couldn't take any more. He said he wanted to get a job and needed some
independence.

I'd had high hopes for him professionally and was concerned he felt
this way. But I had been so upset about his general behaviour, and
wondered if maybe the academic pressure had been too much for him,
that I told myself that perhaps if he left school and had a less
pressured existence he would return to his old self.

We could worry later about what he should do with his life. Mark got a
job as a waiter in a local hotel and also found a bed-sit to live in.
It was an awful, soulless place and I reminded him how much I wanted
him to be at home. But he was vague, distant and difficult to reach
out too.

Looking back this was clearly the deepening of the disintegration of
clear thought that marks schizophrenia. And it was because of this
that he was really unable to function independently.

He was totally disorganised. He couldn't account for the money I gave
him to help support himself and wouldn't turn up when I had arranged
to meet him. Within a couple of months he had lost his job and had to
return home.

Once home his paranoia got worse. He would stay in bed until the
afternoon, barricaded in his room. When I could get in I found knives
and iron bars under his bed. When I asked why, he replied: 'In case
they attack me.'

As Mark's father my instinct was to reach out to help my son. As a GP
I began to realise that this was a young man who could be suffering
from schizophrenia and needed professional help.

I knew this would mean seeking psychiatric treatment though hadn't
thought beyond what the implications of this could be.

There were still times when Mark could be perfectly lucid and we could
enjoy dinner together or a nice chat. This could go on for a week or
two and I would think everything was fine. Then within minutes he
would change. One evening we went to a local pub for a meal and he
became convinced everyone was talking about him. I had to take him
home because he was so agitated.

He kept looking frantically around the room and whispering loudly to
me how people were staring. I suppose it was embarrassing but I'd gone
beyond that. I was too deeply disturbed by what he was becoming.

His mother and I spoke every day about Mark because she was as close
to him as I was and we both agreed he desperately need professional
help.

So in October 1999 I contacted my own GP, who referred me to a
psychiatrist. He visited Mark at home on several occasions, and
listened to him as he described me as the devil. Yet it was still a
shock when the psychiatrist recommended he should be admitted to
hospital. It was just so hard to accept this terrible change in my
son.

But schizophrenia is a difficult illness to understand. People
mistakenly believe it means a 'split personality'. Instead, it is an
illness that can affect any aspect of the way a person thinks, feels,
speaks and behaves, so he or she may lose touch with reality.

Experiences such as hearing voices always seem very real to the person
affected by schizophrenia, who may not recognise that they are unwell.

It is the combination of delusions, hallucinations and thought
disorder which are often called 'psychosis'. It occurs as a result of
complex brain chemistry.

The brain produces a chemical called dopamine, a neurotransmitter
present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion,
motivation and feelings of pleasure. Often known as the body's reward
chemical, it is released during pleasurable experiences.

We can get it from cigarettes, alcohol, sex, eating chocolate or even
looking at a lovely sunset. However, if a person has schizophrenia
they are unable to metabolise dopamine and this can cause symptomssuch as
hallucinations.

Taking drugs like cannabis produces a massive amount of dopamine in
the brain. And this can trigger schizophrenia.

It's now known that if someone had a flaw in their brain, which may or
may not lead to mental illness, then taking drugs like cannabis could
trigger conditions like schizophrenia.

However, even more disturbing is emerging research which suggests that
taking the drug without any biological fault in the brain could also
cause the illness.

It was devastating to have Mark sectioned, though he went voluntarily,
understanding that he needed help.

The hospital wasn't an unpleasant place but as a parent there is
something horrifying about taking your 17-year-old son to a
psychiatric ward.

Being a doctor and understanding the medicine of it all couldn't
shield me from the sorrow I felt as a parent.

But I knew being admitted to a psychiatric ward was the only way we
could help my son. At the hospital Mark was treated with a variety of
anti-psychotic drugs in an attempt to find one which would have an
effect.

Throughout this time I visited every week praying to see some change
in his behaviour. But as the months went on it all seemed so hopeless.
None of the drugs were having any effect.

I had my work as a GP to keep me busy and took pleasure in the
development of my other children. Kathryn is now a teacher and Graham
is in the Royal Marine Commandoes.

The irony is that Mark was always considered the cleverest of my
children and had got the best GSCE results. But we were also
profoundly aware that he was fighting to gain some form of basic
independence.

After about a year in hospital, however, there was still no
improvement. So his consultant suggested giving Mark a relatively new
drug called clozapine. This works by blocking the action of dopamine
in the brain therefore preventing the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Within six months of taking the drug Mark was calmer and no longer
hallucinated.

By the end of two years, he seemed to be managing his condition so
well that his doctors advised that he could come home. I knew this
didn't mean he was cured but that he had reached a point where his
schizophrenia had become manageable and would allow him to have some
kind of normal life.

He would, however, have to continue taking clozapine twice a day. Mark
rejoiced at being discharged and talked about getting a flat of his
own. After all, by now he was 20. I fretted over this but a very old
school friend of his called Sam, who was a fine boy and one I could
trust, said he could share with him.

I had to support Mark financially as he was incapable of getting a
job. But I prayed this independence would be the slow journey to a new
start.

He didn't do much all day, sleeping in late because of the effects of
the clozapine. But it was a step away from being in hospital. However,
it didn't last long. He soon stopped taking the clozapine and before
long Sam told me that Mark was smoking cannabis.

But I just couldn't get through to him. I was helpless because I
couldn't cut off his financial life line and have him wandering the
streets.

But the drug soon affected his behaviour and he quickly started
displaying signs of his illness. He was delusional and even
aggressive, lashing out at me which was a frightening experience. Then
he would disappear for hours - once it was two days before the police
found him - and I feared for his safety.

I had no choice but to have him readmitted to hospital. This time he
was sent to Kneesworth House Psychiatric Hospital in Cambridge. He was
put back on clozapine and had counselling and anger management
sessions. The place itself is very calm because it is located near a
farm and set in green fields. I knew this kind of atmosphere could
only help Mark.

He has been there for three years now and I go down to see him every
week. He looks better and feels calmer, though he has put on an
enormous amount of weight - he now weights 22st - as a side-effect of
clozapine. But I'm just grateful that he has managed to find some
peace of mind.

Throughout this terrible ordeal one thing that has helped me has been
getting involved with Rethink, a charity which works to help everyone
affected by severe mental illness - and that includes the families. It
was a revelation to meet parents like myself all united in sorrow for
their children's situation.

I admit that I had felt ashamed by Mark's condition, but through
meeting such people I discovered that cannabis-associated mental
illness is no respecter of social class. There were high-court judges
and lawyers whose children had succumbed to drugs, then developed
schizophrenia.

The time has come for young people and their parents to be aware that
cannabis can trigger the condition. It is not a riskfree drug and
classifying it as such is a total red herring.

In January Charles Clarke announced to the House of Commons that the
mental health effects of cannabis were 'real and significant' and that
it may exacerbate or even trigger a range of serious mental health
problems, including schizophrenia. He added that a massive programme
of public education was needed to convey the danger of cannabis.

Unfortunately, nothing has yet been done. And though a person can stop
taking cannabis, once the brain has been triggered into a
schizophrenic state, this can never be cured, only controlled. So
people taking it now are playing Russian Roulette with their health.

It's something I have to accept for Mark as we start to talk about him
being discharged from hospital. I remarried two years ago and my wife
and I moved from the family home to our present place in Devizes. But
I haven't sold the old house because I'm nursing a hope that one day
Mark can live there, look after himself and have some quality of life.

It has been heartbreaking watching the destruction of a life once so
full of promise. As a parent I've been through every stage of anger,
grief, shame and despair.

Now the only thing I cling to is hope. Hope that Mark can reclaim
something of the life he has lost and hope that by speaking out I can
stop other parents and their children suffering in the same way.