Here are the ten cases (from a catalogue of hundreds) that I list in my recent article for Conservative Woman:
Youth guilty of Dundee murder: ‘The court heard that McIntosh [the defendant], who had been smoking cannabis, alarmed three strollers on Law Hill with his odd behaviour shortly before the killing.’ (17 Apr 2002)
Killer’s chilling promise to victim: ‘She [Stephanie Hancock] was strangled, battered and stabbed at her Hampshire home. Winchester Crown Court heard how Caswell, 31, was unable to accept their relationship had ended. Days before the murder he told a friend that he would “probably kill her”. He fulfilled his promise on July 22 by murdering Stephanie as she slept at their home on Pegasus Close, Gosport. The court also heard how Caswell suffered from a personality disorder because of a long-term dependence on cannabis.’ (19 Dec 2002)
Jodi’s killer to serve at least 20 years in jail: ‘The boyfriend of Jodi Jones was told yesterday that he would spend at least 20 years behind bars for the murder of the 14-year-old schoolgirl. Sentencing Luke Mitchell, 16, at Edinburgh high court, Lord Nimmo Smith linked the attack to the killer’s heavy cannabis use and fascination with the occult and the goth rocker Marilyn Manson… The judge also linked Mitchell’s use of cannabis to the killing. “I do not subscribe to the notion that this is a harmless recreational drug,” he said. “In your case, I think that it may well have contributed to your being unable to make the distinction between fantasy and reality which is essential for normal moral judgments [sic]”.’ (12 Feb 2005)
Skunk addicted schizophrenic fulfils sick fantasy by killing a black woman: ‘Psychiatric reports stated that Maxwell was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and his abnormality was so great that it affected his judgment [sic].The reports also said his condition was exacerbated by the heavy use of skunk.’ (3 Apr 2007)
Teen guilty of dog walker murder: ‘Adrian Jones, 17, beat Kelly Hyde, 24, from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, around the head with a barbell. Jones did not know his victim and police said they still did not know his motive. He sobbed in the dock as the verdict was read out… He told the jury he came across a dog lead used by Ms Hyde as he walked along the bridle path smoking cannabis on the day she disappeared.’ (17 July 2008)
Cannabis smoking led to brutal killing, court hears: ‘Marc Middlebrook, 27, had ignored repeated warnings to quit the drug when he stabbed Stephanie Barton 15 times with three knives as she lay naked in his bed. Middlebrook had become convinced she was part of a plot to kill him and he “wanted to put her out of her misery”.’ (7 Oct 2008)
Cannabis-smoking schizophrenic butchered gran on Christmas Day after wishing her a ‘merry Christmas’: ‘Labourer Maxwell Twyman, who had smoked super-strength skunk for the previous 10 years, knifed 62-year-old Valerie as she lay in bed in the Kent home they shared. After the brutal killing the 25-year-old calmly walked round to his aunt and uncle’s house to wish them season’s greetings and deliver presents before confessing: ‘I’ve killed my grandmother.’ (21 Nov 2008)
Gemma Simpson death: Martin Bell jailed for 12 years: ‘The new report confirmed that doctors had considered Bell’s cannabis use may have contributed to or exacerbated Bell’s illness and he had smoked the drug on the day he killed Miss Simpson in his Harrogate flat.’ (19 Dec 2014)
Church-going cannabis user who strangled his grandmother and drowned his aunt is jailed for life: ‘Christopher Whelan, 21, armed himself with an axe and a pen knife during the killing of Julie Hill, 51, and 75-year-old Rose Hill after cannabis use “exacerbated” his violent thoughts linked to an obsessional disorder.’ (21 Nov 2016)
Xixi Bi Llandaff murder: Jordan Matthews jailed for life: ‘He accepted he was smoking “quite a lot” of cannabis at the time and the court heard he felt “insecure” when his girlfriend visited her family in China.’ (21 Feb 2017)
Attacker Smoked Cannabis: suicide and psychotic violence in the UK and Ireland 