Few people will deny the musical gift of Pete Doherty. Gifts aside, Doherty is also a drug addict. His influence as a role model unfortunately caused the death of one of his biggest fans.
Terrifying Harbinger
Months before his death 18-year-old Freddy McConnel, a "boy genius" with an IQ of 144, wrote in his diary: "Peaches [Geldof] is coming over later and I am going to inject for the first time. Perhaps I will die. I hope I don't."
James McConnel, 53, Freddy’s father, fears drug abuse is "absolutely rife" in schools
was found dead in his Battersea flat surrounded by syringes following five years of drug problems,.
McConnel has been very vocal and proactive in his efforts to stop drug abuse. Since the death of his child, many of Freddy’s peers have come to the elder McConnel to talk about how terrifying the problem really is.
Once his peer group experienced death so close, they became very frightened, and when they become frightened they talk. They have told him the ins and outs of what goes on with drugs in schools and it is terrifying. Older teenagers are selling younger teenagers of 13 or 14 ketamine, GBL and some of these hideous club drugs."
He said he hopes the Government will recognize the need for early intervention otherwise he fears "a lot of lives will be ruined". One in four 15-year-olds reported taking drugs last year according to official NHS Information Centre figures, and the figure is 12 per cent for all children between 11 and 15.
A young person dying is always tragic. Perhaps some good can come from Freddy’s death. If his friends and peers warn another group so that even one more life can be saved then it will not have been a total loss.
Source: thisislondon.co.uk