More info , another article on this
Schoolboy in ecstasy death learned to take drug from films
SCHOOLBOY Ben Hennessy, who died after taking four-and-a-half crushed ecstasy tablets, learned how to take it from films, an inquest has been told.
A 16-year-old friend of the St Albans teenager, who cannot be named but has been convicted of possession of drugs in relation to the tragedy, was questioned on Tuesday at Hatfield Coroners' Court.
He told coroner Edward Thomas they had taken the "bombs" folded cigarette papers full of powder while walking home from Batchwood Hall nightclub on the night of July 29 and the next day in a park.
He said: "We just thought we would do it. Ben took more because he did bigger bombs than me the Rizla was bigger."
Dr Thomas told him he was lucky to be alive himself.
Pathologist Nathaniel Cary, who carried out a post mortem after Ben had died at Hemel Hempstead Hospital, said: "Ecstasy is like a great big game of Russian roulette.
"It doesn't kill everybody, but it kills regularly."
Three other teenagers who had been with Ben on his last afternoon described how they had seen him take the drug, but agreed he had not tried it previously.
His mother Shirley Bullen, who lives in Francis Avenue, asked his 18-year-old friend [snipped] why she had not told her he had been taking pills.
She said: "If you had told me, he would not be where he is now."
Ben told his brother, Mr Lee Wesley, he was pale and shaking because he had a cold.
But later Mr Wesley heard about the tablets, found Ben on Batchwood Golf Course and took him to their grandparents' home in nearby Green Lane.
Paramedic Christine Rainey described how she had been called to their address to find Ben hallucinating and raving incoherently in the garden.
She needed Mr Wesley's help to get him into an ambulance and rush him to hospital.
As they arrived he had a fit and then his heart stopped.
Despite being resuscitated by casualty staff, his temperature was soaring to dangerous levels as the amphetamines wreaked havoc on his organ functions and he was certified dead at 6.52pm.
The post mortem examination revealed three different amphetamine compounds and evidence of earlier cannabis use.
Detective Stewart Gunstone said that two other people had been arrested after the incident, but no evidence had been found to justify charging them with supplying the pair with ecstasy.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Dr Thomas said: "The heartbreak for the family is incalculable."
He told Ben's relatives: "We want to minimise the number of families who have to go through the agony and pain that you have gone through."
About a month before his death, Ben was one of several children, all under 16, who appeared in a short educational film warning youngsters of the dangers of drugs.
It was made in St Albans and was first shown at Hatfield UCI in early August only days after he died.
The film was made by police in co-operation with other agencies and was funded by the Government through the Communities Against Drugs programme. It has also been shown in schools, but is not being used now and there are no plans to use it again.
As well as appearing in the film, Ben helped with some of the camera work.
11:13am today
Source
