A mother has called for Ecstasy to be legalised - despite hearing how the drug killed her daughter.
15-year-old Martha Fernback suffered a cardiac arrest last year after taking 0.5mg of MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy.
Now the teenager's mum Anne-Marie Cockburn is calling for the drug to be legalised, so those wanting to 'dabble' in the drug can be assured it is coming from a 'trustworthy' source.
Speaking after the inquest into her daughter's death at her home in Oxford in the UK, the mum called for ‘strict’ regulation of recreational drugs.
She said, “We must start a sensible dialogue for change, from prohibition to strict and responsible regulation of recreational drugs."
“I'm not a radical person, this has been well considered and thought out. If we had that, Martha would have been able to make an informed decision," said the mum. “Martha wanted to get high, she didn't want to die - no parent wants either, but one of those is preferable to the other.”
Martha was studying for her GCSEs when she collapsed in a park last July, hours after taking the drug.
She later died in hospital as a result of taking the drug.
At the inquest into her death, the coroner warned other teenagers of the risks of taking drugs, explaining there was 'no way of knowing' how pure they were.
During that hearing, it emerged the drug Martha took was 91 per cent pure, compared to the average street purity of 58 per cent.
Anne-Marie said control of drugs needed to be handed over to “doctors and pharmacists, not drug dealers,” to ensure what happened to her daughter did not happen again.
She said, “No parent wants their child to take drugs but it would be reassuring to parents to know if they're going to dabble they can get it from a trustworthy source. I think it's highly inadequate what's in place.”
The mum added, “It has been 328 days since my precious girl was safely by my side.
“I wish the drug education she received had enabled her to make a more fully informed decision, instead of leaving her so vulnerable and in danger.”
The teenage drug dealer who sold the Ecstacy that killed the teenager was spared prison last month
