Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Scandal: Coroner Links 66-Year-Old’s Fatal Fire to Drug-Induced Psychosis

David Morgan, a 66-year-old father, was found dead in his bathtub on August 4, 2025, after a fire swept through his flat on the island of Jersey.

An autopsy established acute carbon monoxide poisoning as the cause of death. Investigators also found soot in Morgan’s lungs, indicating that he had been breathing while the fire was burning. His flat’s entrance door was unlocked and could have been opened by turning the handle.

At a recent hearing, Jersey coroner and Deputy Viscount Matthew Berry said medicinal cannabis consumption was the predominant cause of the psychosis that contributed to Morgan’s failure to escape the fire.

Family and GP Raised Concerns Before His Death

Morgan had been prescribed medicinal cannabis for an anxiety disorder for approximately a year. The clinic responsible for his prescription had not met him in person, and his prescribed supply was doubled in the months before his death. The clinic has not disclosed the quantity he received.

His former partner, Fiona Healy, said Morgan once described himself as being like “a kid in a candy shop” during a period when his cannabis consumption was at its highest.

In the six weeks before the fatal fire, his behaviour reportedly changed significantly. He made threats against his former partner, wrote on the walls of his flat, threatened to set himself alight, cleaned compulsively and spent unusually large amounts of money.

His GP, Dr Lisa Clynes, wrote to the Windsor Clinic warning that cannabis was not in Morgan’s best interests, citing his history of addiction and depression. The letter was reportedly ignored.

Clynes subsequently attempted to refer him to Jersey’s Drug and Alcohol Service, but he was turned away because he was taking a prescribed medication and did not meet the service’s eligibility criteria.

Morgan also expelled his only son from their shared home before the fire broke out. Investigators found that a fan heater had been knocked over onto the carpet, starting the blaze.

Jersey’s Medicinal Cannabis Rules Under Scrutiny

Morgan’s death has intensified scrutiny of Jersey’s approach to medicinal cannabis, which is available through private clinics under rules that allow a wider range of practitioners to prescribe it than in the UK.

Since 2019, prescriptions on the island have been available from a range of authorised prescribers, including GPs, some nurses and pharmacists. The rules have also allowed clinics to prescribe without requiring face-to-face consultations.

By September 2025, 4,300 Jersey residents reportedly held medicinal cannabis prescriptions. With a population of approximately 104,500, that represented around one in every 25 islanders.

The scale of prescribing has raised concerns among some politicians and medical professionals about the potential effects on patients’ mental health.

Mental Health Admissions Involving Cannabis Increase

Local figures indicate that 31 per cent of patients admitted to Jersey’s mental health unit in the six months to September 2025 reported currently using cannabis. In 2025, cannabis was identified as a contributing factor in 22 per cent of admissions, according to the figures cited in the report.

Morgan’s case was not the first in which prescribed cannabis was linked to concerns about mental health. Rebecca Vibert, 46, died by suicide in 2023. A report published the following year concluded that it was more likely than not that prescribed medicinal cannabis had affected her mental health before her death.

Jersey’s medicinal cannabis system has therefore become the subject of growing debate over patient safeguards, prescription practices and the responsibilities of private providers.

Industry Generates Millions of Pounds in Revenue

The island’s medicinal cannabis market generates an estimated £17 million annually. Local data cited in the report showed that private clinics supplied 72,065 imported cannabis products in 2025, up 35 per cent from 53,477 the previous year.

Around half of the prescribed products sold on Jersey consist of cannabis flower. Other options include oils, edible products such as gummies, vape cartridges and skin patches.

Monthly prescriptions can cost between £70 and £400, depending on the quantity and strength of the products supplied.

Cannabis products are prescribed for a range of conditions, including anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, insomnia and chronic pain. The psychoactive compound in cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, with quantities in products varying considerably.

The NHS has stated that cannabis-based products are likely to benefit only a small number of patients.

Local Cannabis Company Seeks Permission to Supply Clinics

Jersey’s cannabis industry is also attracting investment from local businesses seeking to establish cultivation and supply operations.

Cannacine, a cultivation company run by island residents Jack Moullin and Mark Le Lay, has invested more than £1 million in its operation and hopes to obtain a licence to supply local clinics.

Its facility includes a controlled growing environment containing 108 flowering plants under artificial lighting for 12 hours a day. Access to the site is restricted and requires facial recognition.

The company intends to cultivate different cannabis strains and supply them to Jersey’s five private cannabis clinics if it secures the necessary approval. It hopes to begin supplying the market as early as the following year.

Under the current arrangements described in the report, locally grown cannabis must be exported and cannot be sold as medicinal cannabis on the island.

Patients Describe Benefits From Prescribed Cannabis

Despite concerns about adverse effects, some Jersey residents say medicinal cannabis has significantly improved their quality of life.

Alison Fromager, 54, turned to cannabis after developing three debilitating conditions in 2011. She experienced chronic fatigue, insomnia, sickness, pain and swollen limbs, which affected her mobility and daily activities.

Fromager said cannabis oil had reduced the number of tablets she needed to take from 15 a day to one, alongside the cannabis treatment. She uses two drops during the day and another dose at night.

She also reported improvements in her pain and anxiety. However, she said trying an edible cannabis product had left her feeling excessively intoxicated after eating half a cookie.

Another resident, identified as Peter, said he began vaping cannabis to manage insomnia after his GP stopped prescribing sleeping pills.

James Bedding, 44, also described cannabis as life-changing. Bedding became a quadriplegic after falling from Jersey’s Albert Pier at the age of 15 and said vaping cannabis had helped him manage severe muscle spasms. He reportedly uses approximately five grams daily and operates a vape shop in St Helier.

Former Health Minister Calls for Greater Regulation

Former Jersey health minister Karen Wilson has spoken publicly about concerns involving people who developed mental health problems after using medicinal cannabis.

Wilson, who previously worked as a mental health nurse and NHS chief executive, said she had encountered people with no previous history of mental illness who later sought help for anxiety and depression following cannabis use.

She also raised concerns about the marketing of medicinal cannabis on the island, arguing that patients had not always been adequately informed about the drug’s strength or potential for dependence.

Wilson called for stronger safeguards to protect patients while recognising that legislation must also account for individual choices regarding substance use.

New Health Minister Plans Changes to Prescribing Rules

Jersey Health Minister Tom Binet is preparing new regulations intended to strengthen oversight of medicinal cannabis prescribing.

The proposed measures include requiring clinics to review patients’ medical histories, conduct face-to-face consultations and record adverse reactions associated with treatment.

The proposals follow criticism from Sir Robin Murray, who has contributed to the UK’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Earlier in 2025, Murray described Jersey’s approach to cannabis as “cavalier” and accused private clinics of prioritising the distribution of cannabis over investigating patients’ medical conditions.

Binet said the government needed to ensure commercial interests did not take precedence over public safety.

The proposed changes come amid continuing disagreement on the island over medicinal cannabis. While some patients report substantial improvements in their health and daily lives, cases involving mental health deterioration and deaths have increased pressure on authorities to review how the drug is prescribed and monitored.