Campaigners call for change to Scotland’s soft-touch cannabis policy in wake of brutal murder

Campaigners have called for an end to Scotland’s soft-touch cannabis policy following a report into yet another violent murder committed by a dope smoker.

Jason Graham raped and killed churchgoing pensioner Esther Brown in her own home in Glasgow in 2021 while high on marijuana and drink.

But a dossier on how the authorities supervised the 30-year-old sex offender revealed he had been using cannabis since he was a child. Intelligence that he was dealing the drug while in jail wasn’t passed on and police failed to act on tip-offs he was smoking it while out on licence.

Since 2016, police have been acting on Crown Office guidance to hand out only warnings to those caught in possession of minor amounts. But The Sunday Post has told of experts’ fears that modern super-strength dope is fuelling a tidal wave of psychiatric problems, especially in young people, which can lead to explosions of psychotic violence.

Graham now joins other notorious cannabis-using killers including Luke Mitchell, Aaron Campbell and Robbie McIntosh whose crimes have shocked the nation.

Campaigners insist the murder of charity volunteer Miss Brown, 67, should trigger an urgent review of how Scotland looks upon the drug.

Graeme Pearson, former head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and ex-Scottish Labour shadow justice secretary, said: “The problem is that using cannabis is now seen as something of a non-event. There is a choice taken by many in the system to avoid seeing the connection between cannabis and psychosis.

“It must have been obvious to those supervising Graham that he was erratic and unpredictable. If he was using drugs and dealing while in prison, with his criminal history, it was clear he had to be adequately monitored when he came out. I get frustrated and angry when politicians talk about the positive aspects of their drugs strategy.

“Esther Brown didn’t get the positive aspects, she just got the hard reality. And there have been too many Esther Browns across this country.”

© Police Scotland/PA Wire

Convicted rapist Graham struck after breaking into her flat. The 67-year-old was punched, kicked, stamped on, raped and bludgeoned with a piece of wood.

Last week’s Significant Case Review found the way Graham was managed in the community was riddled with mistakes. But his cannabis use was also a thread running through the report compiled by former police chief Gail Johnston.

On the day of the murder, Graham “spent that afternoon at a public house drinking alcohol, smoking cannabis and was ejected shortly after 6pm after becoming aggressive towards other patrons”.

An examination of his background found that “from 10 years old (he) was regularly using cannabis and alcohol and was engaged in criminality and antisocial behaviour”.

In the weeks before the murder, police suspected that he was abusing drugs once more. The report revealed Graham was receiving psychiatric treatment and suffered from “chronic anxiety and sleep problems”.

Annemarie Ward, chief executive of the charity Faces & Voices of Recovery UK, said: “Politicians cannot carry on ignoring the mountains of evidence showing the link with psychosis and violent behaviour. To do so would be an abdication of social and moral responsibility. We need to start talking seriously about the dark side of cannabis.”

Professor Jonathan Chick, medical director of the Castle Craig rehab clinic in the Borders, added: “Cannabis can distort thinking and alter perceptions which can lead to irrational behaviour towards others, including criminal offending. Drug testing in the criminal justice system is a proven way of reducing offending.”

Earlier this year, we revealed NHS statistics showing cannabis was now the drug most likely to trigger mental illness. The health service has been swamped with 3,700 new patients in the last three years, all suffering from a range of psychotic delusions and hallucinations caused by cannabis use or its synthetic variants.

The Scottish Government said reviewing drugs offences and penalties was a matter for the UK Government.

The Crown Office was approached for comment.