Killed by cannabis: Boy, 17, dies falling down stairs while high on skunk ... and proves Sir Richard Branson is wrong about drugs



David Norkett: He died from brain injuries after falling down seven steps while smoking cannabis in Reading

A teenage boy died of head injuries after he fell down a flight of stairs while high on super-strength cannabis.

Yesterday the coroner at his inquest hit out at those who seek to trivialise drug use.

David Norkett, 17, bought the cannabis from dealers loitering outside a shop.

These are the kind of small-time criminals who could escape a jail sentence under the Government’s controversial new sentencing guidelines.

Coroner Peter Bedford said cannabis was the most likely cause of David’s death and called for greater awareness of the drug’s harmful effects.

He said: ‘Can we say that, if he hadn’t had cannabis, he wouldn’t have fallen?

‘We can’t say completely but I think, deep down, we all know that wasn’t likely to have happened otherwise.

‘There are risks involved in these substances and these risks can prove fatal. Let his death not be in vain. Share this message.’

The inquest heard David, from Newbury in Berkshire, bought the skunk cannabis to smoke with his friends, Matthew Lawrence and Oliver Farr, in June last year.

They noticed it was a brighter green than usual, with the dealers warning them: ‘Make sure you don’t have too much, it’s quite strong.’

Scroll down to listen to friends' tribute to David



Grilling: Sir Richard Branson gave evidence to Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, calling for drugs to be decriminalised, on the same day as the inquest

The trio then went to a multi-storey car park in Reading, and smoked several joints.

His friends later told police that while they began ‘laughing and giggling,’ David was affected the most.

They said he became ‘hyper,’ crouching down and apparently deliberately hyperventilating before suddenly standing to bring on a fainting fit.



Seconds later, the inquest heard, he staggered backwards and fell head-first down the stairwell.

‘If nothing else comes out of this tragic death, let the message be taken away... that there are risks involved in these substances and these risks can prove fatal'

Mid Berkshire Coroner Peter Bedford

His friends called emergency services and the teenager was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.

Six days later he died of brain injuries at a neurological unit in Oxford, where he had been transferred in a bid to save his life.

Dr Bedford recorded a verdict of misadventure.

He said: ‘The awful events that took David’s life weren’t directly related to the fact he had taken cannabis but potentially fairly innocuous substances – alcohol being another obvious example – may not in themselves cause death but may impact upon behaviour in ways that put lives at risk.’

David left school at 16 to train as a roofer with his uncle’s business in Thatcham. He lived with his father Nigel, 46, a former soldier, and half-sisters Chloe, 15, and Natasha, 15.

His death is the second family tragedy as his mother Julie died 12 years ago at the age of 33 – reportedly in a house fire.

Following his death, David’s father said: ‘He was a lovely lad with a bubbly, lively character.

‘After leaving school at 16, he went to work as a roofer. He was doing very well and got on well with all his colleagues.’