Caleb Morris
A Bristol mother whose son died after becoming addicted to ketamine is handing in a petition to 10 Downing Street today calling for the drug to be upgraded to class B.
Shielmor Twomey, from Henbury, whose son Caleb Morris took his own life in 2009 after becoming addicted to the horse tranquiliser, launched the campaign group Ketamine Awareness in Bristol last year.
Ketamine is currently a class C drug, but Mrs Twomey hopes that with the help of her local MP Charlotte Leslie she can get it upgraded. She hopes that Caleb’s face can now become the face of Ketamine Awareness.
In a statement, she said: “I want people to see his face and think of all the lives that have been saved because of him.
“Ketamine destroys lives. I saw it wreak havoc with Caleb’s mental state and get a hold of him, causing awful mood swings. I do not want him to have died in vain. Something good has to come from his death.”
Bristol North West MP Miss Leslie tabled an early day motion on the issue and is currently looking to gain the support of more MPs.
Miss Leslie added: “This drug may not be as widely used as others we hear about all the time, but nevertheless it has a huge and devastating impact. I was so struck by what Mrs Twomey recounted in her story, and I am sure that there are others out there with similar stories to tell.”
Terrible story but i feel it is more likely he was self medicating depression with ketamine.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9696-ketami…
I personally do not like the drug at all and it is damaging to the bladder and all feel it endangers people when they are wobbling all over the place. but don't see how increasing the sentences for people caught in possession and sending more people to our heroin filled prisons is going to help anything.
Hi Chris.
Great comment you made .If you read the information on Caleb's petition website . I made suggestions to decriminalise the users' of ketamine , to get them on a detox or away from where their problem(s) started .
I agree with you , sending the user to prison is only going to make his/her future difficult if not impossible to start a new life without the use of drugs .
If Caleb was with us today I would not want to see him go to prison where you say "heroin filled prisons" would make his detox in there pointless and his life even more complex. What kind future would he have on the outside ?
I sincerely hope the Government decriminalise the user(s) and instead send the traffikers on a long term in prison and , confiscate any money they made dealing misery out to our children.
Shielmor