Campaigners concerned by Prince Harry’s praise for drugs

In a live interview with a trauma expert, Prince Harry described using cocaine and marijuana, and said one hallucinogenic drug ‘changed him’.

Prince Harry during a live interview with Gabor Mate. Picture: Supplied

A drug education campaigner whose teenage son died after taking MDMA at a rave spoke of her concern after the Duke of Sussex described how his use of narcotics “really” helped him mentally.

In a live interview with a trauma expert, Prince Harry talked about his use of cocaine, marijuana and alcohol, and also told how taking one hallucinogenic drug, ayahuasca, “changed me”, describing its effect as like “cleaning the windscreen”.

Fiona Spargo-Mabbs set up the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, a drugs education charity, in her son’s memory. She said she feared that it sent out the wrong message to young people for Harry to talk about using drugs as a coping mechanism. Her son was 16 when he died after taking MDMA while out with friends in 2014.

An expert in alternative medicine also warned against taking ayahuasca. Edzard Ernst, a former professor of complementary medicine at Exeter University, said: “Ayahuasca is an under-researched botanical hallucinogenic drug that has shown some promise in the treatment of depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Even though it is often considered to be relatively safe, adverse effects have been reported, some of which are serious. I would certainly not recommend it to anyone for therapeutic or recreational use.”

In the live interview with Dr Gabor Mate, author of The Myth Of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing In A Toxic Culture, Harry said: “[Cocaine] didn’t do anything for me, it was more a social thing and gave me a sense of belonging.

Gabor Mate. Picture: Facebook

“Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.” Talking about his use of psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, he said: “It was the cleaning of the windscreen . . . the removal of life’s filters.

“It removed it all for me and brought me a sense of relaxation, release, comfort, a lightness that I managed to hold on to for a period of time. I started doing it recreationally and then started to realise how good it was for me. It is one of the fundamental parts of my life that changed me and helped me deal with the traumas and pains of the past.”

Spargo-Mabbs, who was appointed OBE in the new year honours list for services to young people, said: “Many young people have been struggling with their mental health under Covid and since Covid. Finding ways to cope, especially when the services to support them are so stretched, is understandable.

“Messages that drugs can help you cope with difficult things is a worry as it may influence the behaviour of young people, who are so much more vulnerable. In adolescence, because of the stage of development you are at, taking drugs has a potentially more lasting impact than it does at any other time of life.” Using drugs as a coping strategy is more likely to lead to addiction, she said. “It’s really important that people access proper support, such as talking therapies, and even reaching out to a friend for help is a better approach.”

The Times