Lurgan teenager first 'legal high' poisoning

Nineteen-year-old Samuel Anthony Thompson, of Hannon Drive, Lurgan, collapsed and died after taking Mephedrone on September 25 last year.

Coroner, Mr Brian Sherrard, said it was a tragic death of ‘a young man who had his whole life in front of him’.

The victim’s father, Mr Samuel Anthony Thompson Snr, said his son had been living at home and serving his time as a car mechanic.

He had spoken to Sammy earlier in the evening on the phone and he had seemed ‘very giggly’ at the time.

He had noticed a couple of weeks before his son had been speaking awfully fast. What had happened had just come out of the blue and was a terrible shock to the family.

In her statement Louise Calvert said at 6.30pm she was at home in her bedroom with her boyfriend Christopher Sloan and Sammy Thompson.

She saw Sammy take out some plant food and drink it with liquid from a shot glass. She had seen him using plant food before.

The three of them went to the home of George Douglas and into an outbuilding which had a loft which contained settees.

Miss Calvert noticed that Sammy was very jittery and sweating loads and she asked George for a pint glass of water. He seemed to be coming round but someone noticed he was not breathing and later the paramedics arrived.

Professor Jack Crane, State Pathologist, gave the cause of death as Mephedrone poisoning. The deceased was healthy and had no natural diseases.

He described Mephedrone as a stimulant drug, usually taken orally, which increased euphoria and excitement, causing heart palpatations and in withdrawal low mood and depression.

At the time it was a legal high but was now proscribed as a class B drug.

The professor said that when the drug was snorted or sniffed it enters the circulation somewhat quicker. This was the first Mephedrone death he had to deal with in Northern Ireland.

But, he added, the drug had been found in the circulation of young people who had taken their own lives. One of the side effects is that the mood can become low and depressed.

There was quite a high concentration of the drug in his bloodstream, added Professor Crane.

Christopher Sloan did not appear at the inquest but his statement was read out.

In it he said at 6pm he went to Lime Grove, home of Louise Calvert, and Sammy Thompson arrived. He had been socialising with him for a couple of months.

He said Sammy appeared lively but not drunk. He didn’t see him take any substance.

Sammy said he had been taking Mephedrone during the day before he went to work.

At 9.15pm they went to the house of George Douglas and into the loft where Sammy appeared to be sweating. There was perspiration on his face, he was a bit wide-eyed and agitated and unstable on his feet.

Mr Sloan added that they tried to calm him down but his breathing became slower and deeper and he appeared to be gasping for breath.

They tried to put him in the car but noticed his breathing had stopped. He was put on the ground and the witness gave first aid until paramedics arrived.

George Douglas said they were in the loft in the outhouse having a drink and Sammy seemed very flustered

He added that Sammy didn’t appear to be drunk but looked as if he was on something.

Replying to the Coroner he said Sammy was very agitated and couldn’t sit still, pacing a lot. He didn’t see him take any substance, the only thing he had was a glass of water.

Peter Downey, who also was at George’s house, said Sammy was scratching his face and was very fidgety. He began to get worse and complained about being too warm. It was decided to take him to hospital. When he was carried out they noticed he had stopped breathing

In his findings the Coroner, Mr Sherrard,said the victim had been socialising with friends and had taken an unknown quantity of Mephedrone. He had told another friend he had been taking it all day

He became more and more agitated and collapsed before 11pm before being taken to Craigavon Area Hospital.

Passing on his condolences to the family, Mr Sherrard urged people who took illicit substances to think carefully about what they were doing.

He said when taking any drug nobody knew exactly what went into them or their level of purity.