The family of a man who took his own life after developing a £1,000-a-month addiction to medical cannabis say he was ‘driven to the depths of despair’ by the drug.
After just one video consultation with a private cannabis clinic, Oliver Robinson became hooked, triggering an 18-month downward spiral which ended in his death.
An ex-property developer, Mr Robinson, 34, was found hanged at home in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 2023 after battling depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts.
After a suicide attempt in 2019 he was treated by the NHS and the Priory Wellbeing Centre in Manchester, where he was prescribed anti-depressants. But he also started to use cannabis prescribed by the online clinic Curaleaf.
Cannabis was legalised for medical use in 2018 to allow the NHS to use it to treat children with severe epilepsy, nausea from chemotherapy, or for muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis.
But this paved the way for private clinics to prescribe unlicensed products which have not been through strictly controlled medical trials.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency allows unlicensed medicines to be supplied when no licensed medicines meet a patient’s needs.
These needs must be clinical and are determined by the prescriber. Some psychiatry experts believe cannabis clinics are only in it for the money – and Mr Robinson’s brother Alexander last night called for the law to be tightened after a coroner ruled medical cannabis had contributed to his death.
Oliver Robinson died in November 2023 at the age of 34 after becoming addicted to medical cannabis. Pictured L-R: Mother Susan, brother Alexander and Oliver
An ex-property developer, Mr Robinson, 34, (pictured) had battled depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts
He said: ‘If these cannabis clinics did not exist in the first place, my brother would still be alive today. He was driven to the depths of despair by medical cannabis and the addiction it caused.
‘He was spending up to £1,000 per month on it.’
It is thought to be the first time medical cannabis has been found to have contributed to a death.
Mr Robinson started to use the drug after a Zoom consultation in April 2022 with Curaleaf’s Dr Urmila Bhoskar – a consultant child psychiatrist. She has been referred to the General Medical Council after the inquest at Rochdale Coroners’ Court heard she was not qualified to treat an adult.
Mr Robinson’s prescriptions had names such as Spectrum Red and High Silver, and were composed of as much as 27 per cent THC – the psychoactive ingredient of the drug – compared to 15 per cent in street cannabis.
Coroner Catherine McKenna ruled he died by misadventure after experiencing ’emotional dysregulation’ including ‘psychological dependence on cannabis which was obtained through illicit sources and from a private clinic’.
She issued a Regulation 28 report to Curaleaf, advising it to take action to prevent future deaths.
In January 2023, Mr Robinson posted on his Instagram: ‘Those of you who know me well will know my long standing relationship with cannabis’
After the verdict Alexander, 38, a tech consultant, said he wanted to prevent others from going through ‘the utter hell’ his brother and his family have been through.
He said: ‘When Oliver couldn’t get enough cannabis, it triggered fits of rage and anger, the likes of which his family and his NHS doctors had never witnessed.
‘Oliver was committed to getting better… but he became unrecognisable from the kind, generous and loving brother and son that we knew.’
Mr Robinson, who graduated from Manchester University, became depressed in 2019 after the breakdown of a long-term relationship and having been made redundant.
He was treated at the Priory in 2019 and 2022 as an inpatient and by the NHS before turning to medical cannabis.
He was still being seen as an outpatient at the Priory by consultant psychiatrist Dr Richard Haslam, who urged him not to use the drug.
NHS prescriptions of cannabis are controlled but according to the Care Quality Commission there are 36 private clinics like Curaleaf in England, which hand out 99 per cent of medical cannabis in Britain.
There were 659,293 unlicensed cannabis products prescribed in 2024, up from 282,920 in 2023, NHS data shows.
Dr Urmila Bhoskar has been referred to the General Medical Council after the inquest at Rochdale Coroners’ Court heard she was not qualified to treat an adult (file image)
Oliver Robinson’s brother, Alexander Robinson, is pictured with his mother Susan at the coroners court
Mr Robinson, who graduated from Manchester University, became depressed in 2019 after the breakdown of a long-term relationship and having been made redundant
Mr Robinson said he and his parents believe the industry is more about profit than patient care.
‘You trust doctors and health providers to first do no harm, but it seems to me that in Oliver’s case profit was prioritised,’ he said.
‘The law needs to change because there is a gap in what the legislation was designed to achieve and what is actually happening. It is open for commercial exploitation.’
Leading psychiatrist Professor Sir Robin Murray, of King’s College Hospital, London, said: ‘These clinics are nothing more than drug dealers for the middle classes. What is happening is not what the legislation hoped to achieve – it has become a money- making business.’
Curaleaf said: ‘We recognise the coroner’s conclusions… and we note the decision to issue a Regulation 28 report and will consider this carefully and respond in line with the required process.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said the NHS ‘only offers cannabis-based medicines that are proven to be safe and effective by the regulator. Decisions about what to prescribe are made by the doctor responsible for the patient’s care.’
The MoS has donated to Suicide and Co – suicideandco.org – on behalf of Mr Robinson’s family for highlighting the issue.
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
