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Man Roller-blades Up Ben Nevis

A Southampton man has roller-bladed up Britain's highest peak to raise awareness of the long-term implications for mental health of heavy cannabis use.


Posted: 30 August 2005
by Jon

A Southampton man has roller-bladed up Ben Nevis, Britain's highest peak, to raise awareness of the dangers of long-term cannabis smoking.

Terry Hammond's son Stephen was diagnosed with schizophrenia six years ago and believes that his heavy use of cannabis was the trigger that brought on his illness. His father, who works in mental health himself, toook six hours to climb the Ben by blade in weather that he described afterwards as 'atrocious'.

He told the BBC that it was probably the hardest thing he had ever done and that 'some people were pretty amused to see someone roller-blading up a mountain.'

Hammond is no stranger to roller-blading lunacy. In the past he's travelled from London to Paris by roller blade in aid of mental health charity Rethink, which he works for. More information here.


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f w
Is this guy trying to illustrate what smoking draw could make you do, by doing something insane?

I rate him for doing it, but it does make me think perhaps his son would gone nuts anyway, genetically

Posted: 31/08/2005 at 22:51

Being eccentric' if that's what you mean by 'nuts' isn't the same as the brain damage caused by long-term cannabis use.

Think paranoia, schizophrenia, violent tendencies, memory loss, reduction in cognitive processes.....and no, it's not just anecdotal evidence from reading the Sun.

Posted: 01/09/2005 at 09:53


f w
fair enough, again I respect what he's doing, but it seems to me that ever since one panorama (paranoia?) programme, everyone (including the government) seems to think tetrahydracannabinol causes brain damage. It is not a neurotoxin, alcohol on the other hand is, along with many perscibed drugs such as ADD medication (ie speed). However, as you say it does trigger mental illness in teenagers, but there's no cause and effect study here, in the same way that apparently research 'proved' one glass of red wine a day helped your heart, when in fact all it meant was that if you drank one glass of red wine a day you were probably middle class, and therefore generally more healthy through other factors such as diet and lifestyle.

Posted: 01/09/2005 at 10:42

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